w 


1  V' 


PRODUCE  MARKETS 
AND  MARKETING 


BY 

WILLIAM  T.  SEIBELS 


CHICAGO 
PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

COR.  \V.  SOUTH  WATER  AND  CLARK  STS. 


COPYRIGHT  1911 
By  W.  T.  SEIBELS 


(all  rights  reserved) 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

Foreword    .  vn 

I      The  Trade  Defined  and  Discussed 1 

II      Crooks  and  Straights 11 

III      The  Making  and  Breaking  of  Markets 20 

IV      Speculation 30 

V      Information    38 

VI      Transportation 15 

VII      Co-operation ol 

VIII      Associations  and  Individuals 66 

IX      Quality   vs.  Quantity 81 

X      Packages     87 

XI      Grading  and  Packing 93 

XII      Where  is  your  Market? 98 

XIII      Sell  or  Consign? 103 

XIV     Auctions 108 

XV      Are  the  Storages  a  Bane  or  a  Blessing? 112 

XVI      Credits  and  Discounts 120 

XVII      Evils  in  the  Trade  that  Need  Correcting 126 

.    XVIII      Legislation  Relating  to  and  Affecting  the  Trade 133 

XIX      Produce  and  Patriotism 110 

XX      An  Appeal  for  Equal  and  Exact  Justice 145 

XXI      The  Wizards  at  Work 150 

XXII      Better  Days  Ahead 155 

XXIII  Public  Estimate  of  the  Trade-  Should  be  Revised  and 

Corrected    160 

iii 

3C0619 


iv 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXIV      Butter   166 

XXV      Eggs    178 

XXVI      Poultry 197 

XXVII      Apples 205 

XXVIII      Potatoes    220 

XXIX      Cabbage    231 

XXX      Onions 239 

XXXI     Melons 244 

XXXII      Citrus  Fruits    250 

XXXIII  Peaches 258 

XXXIV  Pineapples,  Pears,  Prunes  and  Pecans 264 

XXXV      Truck  Growers  and  Truck 269 

XXXVI      Produce  Exports  and  Imports 277 

XXXVII      The  Cost  of  Living 284 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Picking  Cherries,  Michigan    op.  page       4 

West  South  Water  St.,  Chicago "  "           5 

Packing  Pears,  New  York "  14 

Washington  Apple   Tree    "  "         15 

Quincy   Market,   Boston    "  24 

Faneuil   Hall,   Boston "  "         25 

A  Load  of  Michigan  Grapes    "  34 

Spinach  Patch,  Norfolk,  Va "  "         35 

Florida  Vegetables,  express  lots    . '  54 

Texas   Strawberries,  loading  scene    "  55 

"Peaches"  and  Celery,  Sanford,  Fla '  64 

Berry  Pickers,  Borden,   Ind "  65 

Group  of  Fruit  Packers "  72 

Harvesting  Lettuce,  Duluth,   Minn "  72 

Examining  Peach   Bloom,  Michigan    "  73 

February  Shipping,   Virginia    "  90 

Packing  Fruit  in  Colorado    '  91 

Old  French  Market,  New  Orleans    "  "       100 

Fruit  Buyers,  New  York  Auction "  "       101 

Peach  Market,   Grand    Rapids,  Mich "  "       104 

Florida  Celery  Field    "  "       105 

Opening  Auction  Sale,  Chicago "  "       108 

Auction  Scene,  New  York "  "       109 

Fruit  in  Chicago  Auction '  114 

Chickens  on  California  Ranch.  .                                                .  .  "  "       115 


vi  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Maryland    Peach    Shipping — 2    scenes op.  page  122 

Style  of  Apple  Packing — Washington "  "  123 

Harvesting  Peaches,  Michigan   "  "  128 

Ripe  Oranges,  California "  "  129 

Packing  Apples,  Illinois    "  "  136 

Delaware  Shipping  Scene "  "  137 

"Smudging"  in  Colorado "  142 

New  York  Potato  Harvest "  "  143 

Shipping  Potatoes,  Norfolk,  Va "  "  146 

Prune  Packing  Crew,  Oregon '  147 

A  Minnesota  Celery  Farm '  "  152 

The  "Line  Up/'  Independence,  La "  "  153 

New   York    Potato    Harvest "  "  156 

Tokay    Grapes,    California "  "  157 

Packing  Scene,  Medford,  Oregon "  "  164 

Watermelons,  Oaktown,   Ind '  165 

A  Minnesota  Creamery   '  168 

Belgium  Creamery   '  168 

A  Class  in  Dairying "  "  169 

Modern  Butter  Basement    '  174 

Iowa  Creamery '  175 

Egg  Candler  at  Work "  "  184 

A  Commercial  Poultry  Yard '  185 

Dressed  Poultry  boxed — Roasters    "  "  200 

Dry    Picked   Poultry    "  "  201 

Wenatchee  (Wash.)  Apples "  "  208 

Harvesting  Apples — Michigan    '  209 

Kansas  Apple  Scene    '  214 

Hood  River  Apples "  "  215 

Potato  Field— New  York    "  "  224 

Digging  Potatoes— Texas    "  "  225 

Field  of  Danish  Cabbage,  New  York "  "  234 

Florida  Cabbage  Field "  "  235 

Curing  Onions — Indiana "  "  240 

Harvesting  Onions— New  York   "  "  241 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  vii 

Rattlesnake  Watermelons op.  page  244* 

Cantaloupe  Ranch — Arizona "  "  245 

Indiana   Cantaloupes    "  246 

Selecting  Cantaloupe  Seed '  247 

Picking  Oranges — California    "  "  252 

Young  California  Grove "  "  253 

Grove  at  Kissimmee,  Fla "  "  256 

California   Lemons    "  "  257 

Peach  Packing  Shed — Missouri    "  "  260 

Packages  at  Koshonong,  Mo "  "  261 

Pineapples — Miami,  Florida    "  "  266 

Onion  Seed  Farm,  Indiana "  "  267 

"Bunch  Crops,"  Kenner,  La "  "  272 

Erie  Fruit  Pier,  New  York "  "  273 

Apples  for  Export "  "  280 

A  Banana  Room '  281 

Irrigating   Orange  Grove    , "  "  286 

Packing  Peaches,  Texas "  "  28? 


FOREWORD 


It  is  my  sincerest  wish  that  this  volume  may  be  found  readable,  help- 
ful and  instructive,  at  least  in  some  measure  to  those  connected  directly 
or  indirectly  with  the  fruit  and  produce  business  whether  as  growers, 
shippers  or  dealers. 

And  while  I  may  be  a  bit  too  expectant  in  this  wish  I  indulge  the  fond 
hope  that  if  some  of  the  things  I  have  set  down  in  the  *n»nynnrjk  chap- 
ters are  carefully  read  and  thought  over  they  will  make  for  better  con- 
ditions, and  a  more  profitable  business  for  everyone  who  will  take  the 
pains  to  consider  impartially  what  I  have  faithfully  endeavored  to  em- 
phasize in  as  clear  a  manner  as  the  unfavorable  conditions  under  which 
I  have  labored  in  their  compilation  would  permit. 

While  I  have  it  in  mind  I  want  to  state  that  the  preparation  of  this 
work  has  extended  over  several  years,  and  has  been  written  somewhat  like 
Caesar's  "De  Bello  Gallico,"  literally  between  the  fights,  for  I  pre- 
sume it  requires  little  argument  to  convince  the  average  reader  who  is 
at  all  familiar  with  the  maelstrom  in  which  a  busy  editor  gets  mixed 
up  in  his  routine  day  after  day,  that  any  undertaking,  however  trivial, 
outside  his  regular  schedule,  is  sure  to  call  upon  his  time  and  nervous 
energy  to  the  extent  that  he  is  liable  to  give  up  in  disgust,  and  that 
whatever  is  done  aside  from  routine  work  must  necessarily  be  accom- 
plished by  piecemeal. 

Although  my  regular  duties  have  been  arduous  during  the  period  I 
have  had  the  writing  of  this  volume  under  way,  and  there  have  been  times 
when  I  must  confess  I  was  weak  of  flesh,  yet  I  have  never  relinquished 
my  purpose,  nor  has  the  pleasure  of  thinking  out  the  various  chapters  suf- 
fered one  whit  of  diminution  since  the  undertaking  was  begun  a  few 
years  ago. 

One  thing  I  must  emphasize  here  and  now,  and  which  I  would  like 
those  who  may  read  this  book  wholly  or  in  part  to  keep  in  mind,  is  that 
I  am  dealing  with  principles  rather  than  prices,  with  facts  rather  than 
individuals. 

ix 


x  FOREWORD 

Principles  are  eternal.  Men  come  and  gOj  markets  rise  and  fall,  crops 
fail,  methods  change, — in  short,  pretty  nearly  everything  connected  with 
the  produce  business  is  variable  and  changeable,  yet  the  underlying 
principles  with  which  I  have  been  and  am  chiefly  concerned  are  as  im- 
mutable as  the  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians. 

The  principles  to  which  I  refer  are,  of  course,  those  which  I  have 
conceived  to  be  underlying  and  governing  the  whole  scheme  of  produce 
from  a  marketing  standpoint,  and  I  think  no  fair  minded  man  who  may 
have  given  the  subject  any  sober  thought  will  dispute  that  I  am  correct 
in  saying  these  principles  are  paramount  if  anything  like  successful  busi- 
ness is  aimed  at.  Can  it  be  possible  that  any  intelligent  grower,  shipper, 
dealer  or  storage  man  will  take  the  position  at  this  late  date  that  cause 
and  effect  are  not  in  constant  operation  in  the  realm  of  produce,  that 
market  changes  are  not  by  any  means  a  matter  of  chance,  that  from  the 
sum  total  of  human  experience  a  rule  may  not  be  evolved  which  may  be 
the  means  of  avoiding  past  errors  ? 

Oh  yes,  I  am  fully  aware  that  certain  perfectly  good  critics  "will  show 
no  mercy  in  "exploding"  some  of  my  "theories,"  as  they  will  be  pleased 
to  call  parts  of  my  work.  Let  them  do  their  worst,  for,  barring  a  few 
errors  of  minor  importance  which  are  likely  to  creep  into  any  extended 
treatise  of  this  nature,  I  am  willing  to  stand  behind  what  I  have  said 
in  this  book.  All  of  it  has  been  thought  out  soberly  and  at  considerable 
length,  and  I  fancy  some  of  it,  at  least,  will  survive  the  day  when  some 
smart  critics  will  have  been  relegated  to  the  scrap  pile  of  antiquated  and 
forgotten  produce  adjuncts. 

Certain  reforms  I  have  advocated  to  be  sure.  How  well  they  will  be 
received  by  the  trade  in  general,  and  by  certain  sanctimonious  hypo- 
crites in  particular,  it  is  not  becoming,  perhaps,  for  me  to  say.  But 
as  I  have  measured  trade  sentiment  for  nearly  ten  years,  and  have  come 
into  daily  touch  with  some  of  the  best  hearts  and  minds  to  be  found 
in  the  several  branches  of  the  business,  it  is  my  belief  that  the  reforms 
for  which  I  am  contending  are  of  a  progressive  nature,  some  of  which 
have  been  actually  realized  in  part  since  the  work  was  begun,  and  there 
are  others  which  I  have  touched  upon  that  are  now  about  to  be  accom- 
plished. 

And  let's  not  forget  that  reforms  never  work  backward.  One  leads  to 
another.  We  had  as  well  take  a  broom  and  like  old  King  Canute,  whose 
memory  lives  because  of  his  folly,  try  to  sweep  back  the  waves  from 
the  shore  as  they  are  heaved  forth  from  the  restless  bosom  of  the  sea 
as  to  undertake  to  stem  the  tide  of  reform  when  once  begun. 

I  have  no  delight  in  being  an  iconoclast,  I  am  sure.  Yet  if  a  Bastille 
is  to  be  stormed  and  its  moss-covered,  blood-stained  walls  are  to  be 


FOREWORD  xi 

razed  to  the  ground  I  must  confess  to  a  dare  devil  spirit  which  prompts 
me  to  join  the  vanguard  that  rushes  in  to  smash  its  gates  from  their 
rusty  hinges. 

When  a  tadpole  reaches  a  certain  stage  of  development  its  tail  drops 
off  automatically.  How  greatly  would  the  progress  of  civilization  and 
commerce  have  been  accelerated  had  some  scheme  been  devised  in  the 
economy  of  nature  for  mankind  to  leave  behind  the  caudal  appendages 
we  hold  in  common  and  which  appear  to  stick  to  us  even  after  we  are 
compelled  to  speak  of  them  in  the  past  tense.  I  try  to  be  an  optimist; 
that  is  why  I  am  in  favor  of  reforms  when  the  time  comes  to  have  them. 
Gentlemen,  if  we  had  never  been  blessed  with  reforms  and  reformers 
we  should  not  have  the  great  country  in  which  we  live  today,  nor  even 
the  greater  civilization  we  enjoy, — the  greatest  in  the  history  of  the 
world. 

This  book  is  a  serious  matter  with  me ;  I  hope  the  thousands  of  readers 
who  may  peruse  its  pages  will  also  take  it  seriously,  except  where  I 
may  have  digressed  for  a  moment  in  lighter  vein.  I  may  also  say  that 
practically  the  entire  work  is  absolutely  original  thought  with  me,  com- 
ing mainly  from  a  course  of  absorption  of  the  subject  matter  from  touch- 
ing elbows  daily  with  produce  matters  of  one  kind  or  another. 

When  I  made  my  initial  bow  into  the  produce  field  nearly  ten  years 
ago,  coming  from  the  general  newspaper  business,  it  seemed  that  the 
produce  line  was  nearly  all  Greek  to  me,  as  it  must  necessarily  be  to 
any  beginner.  Immediately  I  began  casting  about  for  some  kind  of 
book  or  treatise  that  would  help  me  get  my  bearings.  I  looked  in  vain, 
for,  alas,  there  was  no  lamp  to 'help  me  find  my  way,  though  it  occurred 
to  me  that  there  should  at  least  be  something  of  the  nature  of  a  hand- 
book covering  general  produce  matters  from  a  standpoint  that  an  out- 
sider, who  might  desire  to  get  a  working  knowledge  of  the  business, 
could  do  so  more  easily  than  by  spending  several  years  watching  certain 
things  which  might  as  well  be  told  him  briefly  in  such  a  book  as  I 
have  prepared. 

After  having  been  associated  with  produce  people  in  my  capacity  as 
a  newspaper  man  for  a  short  time  I  had  come  to  understand  some  things 
a  bit  better,  and  having  become  infatuated  with  the  certain  uncertainties 
always  turning  up,  I  decided  to  begin  taking  notes  and  reasoning  out 
things  for  myself  with  a  view  to  putting  some  of  these  conclusions  into 
print.  My  idea  of  the  subject  became  broadened  wonderfully  after  a 
little  thought  on  the  matter,  and  I  concluded  that  any  volume  that  at- 
tempted to  go  into  produce  matters  from  a  strictly  technical  standpoint 
would  probably  not  be  worth  while,  as  it  would  most  likely  be  out  of  date 


xii  FOREWORD 

before  the  ink  was  dry  on  the  paper  on  which  it  was  printed.  There- 
fore, I  resolved  iippi*  fixing  up  a  sort  of  handbook  treating  of  the  prin- 
ciples which  I  conceived  to  Be  regulating  different  commodities,,  and  to 
call  attention  briefly  to  certain  broad  characterizations  in  the  fruit  and 
produce  field,  and  to  touch  upon  various  phases  which  I  deemed  of  suffi- 
cient interest  to  be  included. 

It  was  my  idea  that  the  volume  should  serve  a  double  purpose  ( 1 ) 
in  aiding  many  of  the  ^ery  peopl^  ip*#ie  busmess-  themselves  to  reach 
a  viewpoint  that  might  result*  in  'their  bettermei'^by  reason  of  certain 
changes  in  though^ and  actioja,  and  (2)  in  creating  a  more  wholesome 
respect  in  the  public  mind  "regarding  the  tremendous  importance  of  the 
several  branches  of  the  produce  business  as  compared  with  other  lines 
of  commercial  endeavor. 

That  many  people  in  the  trade  will  be  more  or  less  influenced  by  this 
book  I  have  little  doubt,  for  I  feel  confident  most  of  it  will  stand  the 
wash.  But  whatever  the  results  may  be,  my  intentions  for  good  cannot 
be  questioned.  The  right  must  ultimately  prevail,  and  it  has  been  my 
desire  to  challenge  it  throughout  the  succeeding  chapters.  If  it  becomes 
evident  that  I  have  served  in  the  humble  capacity  of  extolling  effectively 
some  of  the  homely  virtues  as  they  should  be  applied  to  produce  affairs, 
I  shall  feel  that  my  labors  have  not  been  altogether  in  vain. 

Again,  if  I  may  succeed  in  some  small  degree  to  awaken,  even  in- 
directly, in  the  public  mind  a  realization  of  the  nature  and  scope  of  the 
great  produce  business,  and  its  direct  importance  to  our  body  politic,  I 
shall  also  feel  that  the  many  weary  hours  I  have  spent  pondering  over 
the  various  subjects  covered  were  better  employed  than  if  I  had  de- 
voted them  to  some  more  selfish  ends. 

From  the  various  chapter  headings  it  will  be  easy,  I  believe,  to  deter- 
mine the  subjects  which  J . tntertfl  t|b  apply  more  particularly  to  the  trade, 
and  the  same  applies  to  the  subjects  which  I  have  included  more  for 
the  benefit  of  the  general  public,  and  although  the  latter  chapters  are 
merely  a  cursory  glance  at  the  various  subjects  treated,  I  feel  that  a 
majority  of  people  in  the  trade  will  not  consider  it  a  waste  of  time  after 
they  have  read  them  over.  Certainly  there  are  many  things  included 
in  the  latter  chapters,  as  well  as  throughout  the  book  here  and  there, 
which  are  very  well  known  to  most  people  directly  engaged  in  the  prod- 
uce business,  still  I  believe  for  the  reasons  set  forth  in  the  foregoing 
they  will  agree  with  me  that  it  is  well  enough  that  the  subjects  have 
been  included  and  have  been  handled  in  the  way  I  have  treated 
them. 

It  was  Dickens,  I  believe,  who  said  that  in  every  author's   heart  of 


FOREWORD  xiii 

hearts  there  is  a  favorite  child  of  his  creating,  and  I  shall  crave  your 
forgiveness  if  I  spoil  your  estimate  of  my  whole  scheme  by  pointing  to 
my  eulogy  on  the  "Great  American  Hen"  at  the  close  of  the  chapter  on 
eggs,  as  being  the  spot  in  my  brain  that  is  given  over  to  the  fairies  so 
far  as  this  work  is  concerned.  (Page  191). 

It  was  written  on  an  impulse  several  years  ago,  and  I  might  say  caught 
out  of  the  night  and  woven  from  the  moonbeams,  for  on  a  Sunday  night 
in  the  "wee  sma'  hours"  the  idea  came  to  me  and  I  proceeded  to  jot  it 
down  partly  by  moonlight.  It  is  just  a  foible  of  course,  but  I  confess 
with  pardonable  trepidity  that  I  hope  it  will  live  after  the  hand  that 
wrote  it  is  cold  and  pulseless. 

Should  the  balance  of  the  volume  prove  insipid  to  you  I  shall  ask 
that  you  do  me  the  small  favor  of  turning  to  this  passage  and  running 
your  eye  over  it  before  you  toss  the  book  aside  and  swear  at  me  for 
thrusting  it  upon  you.  THE  AUTHOR. 

P.  S. — I  had  almost  forgotten  to  express  my  thanks  to  my  many 
friends  all  over  the  United  States  for  the  kindnesses  rendered  me  in 
helping  to  provide  some  characteristic  pictures  relating  to  the  growing, 
shipping  and  marketing  of  fruit  and  produce  in  the  different  parts  of 
our  country. 


PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND 
MARKETING 


CHAPTER    I 


THE   TRADE    DEFINED   AND    DISCUSSED 

Whoever  is  engaged  in  the  growing,  the  shipping  or  the  selling  of  such 
articles  as  are  usually  .classed  in  the  category  of  fruits  and  produce  is 
embraced  in  what  may  be  more  or  less  affectionately  referred  to  as  "the 
trade." 

But  it  is  doubtful  if  the  average  person  engaged  in  the  business  has 
even  a  fairly  intelligent  idea  of  the  wide  meaning  covered  by  this  term 
when  it  is  made  to  include  a  conglomeration  of  growers,  shippers,  com- 
mission men,  jobbers,  brokers,  auctioneers,  solicitors,  storage  men,  specu- 
lators, etc.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  put  a  strained  construction  on  a  defi- 
nition of  "the  trade,"  nor  shall  I  endeavor  to  make  its  application  more 
clastic  than  it  is  in  reality,  but  I  hope  to  establish  more  clearly  just 
who  may  be  entitled  to  the  honor  of  standing  up  and  being  counted  with 
the  produce  public,  and  tell  about  the  functions  of  the  different  kinds 
of  men  who  make  up  a  good  share  of  our  population  all  over  the  coun- 
try, and  who  wield  a  powerful  influence  financially  and  politically  as 
we  shall  observe  later  on.  I  shall  also  make  some  comments  on  the 
different  members  of  the  trade  which  I  hope  will  prove  instructive  and 
entertaining  to  the  many  people  that  I  hope  will  read  this  book. 

The  grower  is  a  producer.  In  other  words  he  is  the  man  who  makes 
produce,  and  this  is  especially  true  with  respect  to  the  fruit  and  vegetable 
realm.  I  shall  not  go  so  far  as  to  endow  the  producer  with  any  super- 
human traits  which  would  make  him  a  quasi-creator.  I  prefer  simply 
to  class  him  as  an  agent  in  the  hands  of  Providence,  a  kind  of  incident 
as  it  were  in  the  general  scheme  of  affairs  the  same  as  the  dealer  or  the 
consumer.  Intelligent  growers,  whether  horticulturists  or  merely  truck 
growers,  nowadays  are  more  careful  than  formerly  in  making  undue 

1 


2        PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

claims  about  their  importance,  for  they  have  learned  to  realize  that  even 
to  make  a  success  of  their  end  of  the  business  there  must  be  careful 
co-operative  work  in  other  departments  of  the  shipping  and  selling  ends 
where  trained  men  must  do  their  parts  of  the  necessary  labor  to  com- 
plete the  scheme  of  business. 

But  it  would  be  unwise  and  unfair  to  withhold  a  jot  or  tittle  of  the 
honor  and  credit  justly  due  to  the  men  who  have  wrought  so  nobly  with 
mind  and  muscle  to  develop  the  produce  and  fruits  coming  on  the  markets 
every  day,  and  during  the  course  of  a  year  a  number  of  which  staple 
commodities  taken  severally  run  well  up  into  the  millions  of  dollars,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  enormous  aggregate  of  money  involved  in  all  kinds 
of  fruits  and  produce  over  the  entire  country. 

Nearly  every  fruit  and  truck  grower  may  be  put  down  as  a  farmer, 
but  not  every  farmer  can  be  called  a  fruit  or  truck  grower.  Long  ago 
it  became  evident  that  the  successful  fruit  grower  must  be  a  specialist 
in  agriculture. 

Those  growers  who  heretofore  were  accustomed  to  regard  their  busi- 
ness as  a  kind  of  pastime  and  who  treated  matters  in  a  haphazard  way 
are  being  slowly  but  surely  driven  out  of  the  game  by  a  more  intelligent 
generation  of  well  trained  and  well  equipped  men  who  are  doing  business 
in  a  businesslike  way,  and  who  put  their  best  thought  and  efforts  into 
their  calling.  No  better  proof  can  be  found  of  the  increasing  number  of 
intelligent  growers  than  is  disclosed  by  the  courses  of  study  in  our  best 
schools  and  colleges  devoted  to  horticulture,  agriculture,  dairying  and 
kindred  subjects.  The  various  bulletins,  pamphlets,  year  books  etc. 
issued  by  the  agricultural  departments  of  the  different  states  and  by 
the  general  government  at  Washington,  which  are  always  in  demand  by 
our  people,  bear  strong  testimony  in  support  of  the  conclusion  that  the 
era  of  guess  work  and  clumsy  plans  has  given  way  to  one  where  exact 
scientific  methods  produce  absolutely  certain  effects  from  certain  definite 
causes.  Yet  these  documents  are  sometimes  a  hindrance  instead  of  a 
help  as  we  shall  see  later. 

The  frequent  well  attended  meetings  among  growers  in  different  sec- 
tions of  the  country  where  vital  topics  are  discussed  also  show  the  spirit 
of  progress  that  is  performing  such  wonders  in  these  latter  days.  The 
numerous  periodicals  relating  to  the  several  phases  of  the  growing  and 
the  marketing  of  fruits,  vegetables  and  other  produce,  and  which  publi- 
cations are  marvels  of  ingenuity  in  some  respects,  also  bear  mute  testi- 
mony to  the  class  of  men  they  serve.  It  is  an  axiom  in  journalism  that 
a  periodical  must  be  an  exponent  of  the  clientele  it  serves,  and  I  can 
offer  no  better  compliment  to  the  growers  and  the  trade  generally  than 


THE  TRADE  DEFINED  AND  DISCUSSED  3 

to  submit  in  evidence  the  many  excellent  papers  and  magazines  devoted 
to  the  growing  and  marketing  of  fruits  and  produce. 

Surely,  every  man  who  hopes  for  even  ordinary  success  should  read 
all  the  good  literature  in  his  line  that  can  be  obtained  and  I  would  urge 
that  all  growers  subscribe  for  one  or  more  of  such  papers  or  magazines 
as  relate  to  his  sphere,  for  he  will  soon  find  he  can  learn  a  great  deal 
from  them  that  he  could  not  get  otherwise.  Besides,  there  are  quite  a 
few  standard  authorities  on  different  topics  that  no  grower  can  afford 
to  do  without,  and  a  small  library  of  well  selected  books  is  a  very  neces- 
sary adjunct  to  the  orchard  or  truck  farm  if  the  best  results  are  to  be 
had  nowadays.  Systematic  study  affords  pleasure  as  well  as  assured 
profits,  and  the  rainy  days  or  long  winter  evenings  can  be  used  to  good 
advantage  in  laying  out  plans  and  solving  questions  for  which  there  is 
little  time  to  think  when  the  rush  season  is  on  in  hot  weather. 

It  is  no  aim  of  mine  in  this  volume  to  be  didactic  or  ultra  critical,  and 
I  realize  that  out  of  the  thousands  who  will  peruse  this  work  perhaps 
only  a  few  will  need  to  be  impressed  with  the  importance  of  thorough 
preparation  for  their  work.  But  there  will  be  a  few,  I  hope,  who  have 
not  been  awakened  that  will  be  aroused,  and  it  shall  be  the  proudest  act 
of  my  life  to  know  I  have  spurred  a  laggard  here  and  there  to  a  reali- 
zation of  the  possibilities  in  him  and  in  the  business  he  follows  which 
should  play  second  fiddle  to  no  other  line,  I  care  not  what  it  may  be. 
In  a  later  chapter  we  shall  go  more  fully  into  the  importance  of  correct 
information  for  the  grower  and  dealer. 

Shippers  of  fruits  and  produce  are  those  who  send  shipments  to  market, 
but  the  term  is  variously  used  to  embrace  a  class  of  widely  different 
individuals,  for  not  all  shippers  are  the  same,  as  we  shall  presently  see. 
Many  growers  and  raisers  of  different  kind  of  produce  are  likewise 
shippers,  but  not  every  shipper  is  a  grower  or  producer,  for  the  busi- 
ness of  a  shipper,  strictly  defined,  is  primarily  and  essentially  that  of 
a  buyer  or  concentrator.  Indeed,  in  a  great  many  cases  the  men  who 
follow  the  business  of  shipping  fruits  and  produce  in  commercial  quan- 
tities, as  car  lots  or  even  less,  have  to  devote  their  whole  time  to  col- 
lecting the  commodities  they  may  handle  in  the  territory  they  cover,  and 
thus  make  a  primary  market  of  their  shipping  point,  as  I  shall  point  out 
in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

Ordinarily,  shippers  of  all  kinds  of  produce  are  divided  into  two  classes, 
viz. :  car  lot  shippers  and  less  than  car  lot  shippers.  Some  of  both  classes 
ply  their  trade  season  in  and  season  out,  while  others  are  shippers  only 
at  such  seasons  as  they  have  produce  to  market  from  their  respective 
localities.  Again,  some  men  known  as  shippers  of  produce  do  not  con- 


4        PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

fine  themselves  to  any  particular  commodity  for  a  given  season  only, 
but  devote  their  entire  time  to  collecting  and  shipping  a  general  line 
of  produce  during  such  time  as  the  products  handled  are  available. 

Many  shippers  buy  and  ship  produce  largely  as  an  accommodation  to 
the  people  with  whom  they  trade  in  a  retail  way.  Now  and  then  a 
country  merchant  who  has  little  or  no  instinct  or  inclination  for  engag- 
ing in  the  business  of  a  shipper  of  produce  finds  that  his  rural  customers 
have  a  surplus  of  eggs,  poultry,  butter,  pelts,  furs,  etc.  which  they  will 
barter  for  calico,  coffee,  tobacco,  ammunition,  etc.  and  he  has  a  double 
incentive  to  "trade"  if  he  can  see  a  profit  on  both  his  purchases  and  his 
sales.  There  is  an  enormous  amount  of  produce  traffic  that  originates 
in  this  way,  for  the  ever  increasing  supply  of  "raw  materials"  of  a 
hundred  and  one  different  kinds  is  always  in  excess  of  the  supply  of 
ready  cash  among  country  people  who  must  have  "store  goods."  There- 
fore, the  farmer,  the  trapper,  the  housewife,  etc.  in  the  country  find  it  a 
convenience  to  dispose  of  their  various  wares,  often  of  varied  quality 
and  still  more  varied  market  value,  for  such  trinkets  or  staples  as  the 
country  store  or  even  town  store  may  have  to  offer.  This  identical  com- 
mercial fact  was  in  many  cases  the  prime  motive  that  made  the  daunt- 
less pioneer  traders  push  westward  from  the  Atlantic  seaboard  in  our 
early  history  to  establish  trading  posts  where  "poor  Lo"  could  exchange 
skins,  furs,  gold,  etc.  for  beads,  firewater,  and  othf.  trinkets  for  which 
he  exhibited  a  craving.  I  shall  not  try  to  rake  up  trade  acquaintance 
with  Cartier,  Daniel  Boone  and  other  celebrities  of  our  school  books 
with  a  view  to  changing  their  status  in  history,  but  I  submit  that  trading 
was  the  chief  motive  which  caused  hundreds  of  early  adventurers  to 
strike  out  through  the  wilderness  and  brave  the  dangers  and  hardships 
of  an  unknown  region  inhabited  by  savages  and  wild  beasts.  In  nearly 
every  case  the  trading  post  was  the  forerunner  of  the  settlements  and 
the  missions  which  later  developed  marvelous  results  from  insignificant 
beginnings.  'Authorities  are  a  unit,  I  believe,  in  the  opinion  that  com- 
merce is  the  most  potent  factor  in  spreading  civilization  and  I  subscribe 
fully  to  the  theory.  The  handlers  of  produce  have  had  their  share  in 
developing  our  country. 

I  realize  that  it  is  a  digression  from  my  subject,  but  I  cannot  refrain 
from  making  the  observation  that  men  engaged  in  virtually  the  same 
line  of  trading  in  the  early  days  of  our  history  in  this  country  were  only 
another  type  and  were  very  similar  to  hundreds  of  produce  concen- 
trators and  shippers  today.  And  I  am  not  going  out  of  my  way  for  an 
argument  either.  Points  of  comparison  are  so  numerous  between  the 
trapper,  the  trader,  etc.  of  early  days  and  many  concentrators  and  their 


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THE  TRADE  DEFINED  AND  DISCUSSED  5 

bands  of  skirmishers  of  the  present  day  that  they  might  be  considered 
identical  in  some  respects.  Many  produce  men  who  have  camped  on 
a  snow  bank  in  recent  times  to  round  up  produce,  or  who  have  faced  a 
storm  all  day  in  a  wild  country  to  get  their  supplies  lined  up  will  bear  me 
out  in  my  position,  I  am  sure. 

But  I  am  frank  to  confess  that  the  vocation  of  a  produce  shipper  now- 
adays is  a  much  more  business  like  career  than  the  early  trader  could 
claim  for  his  precarious  calling.  Indeed,  there  are  hundreds  of  the  very 
best  business  men  today  engaged  in  buying  up  or  soliciting  country  prod- 
uce which  they  are  putting  in  shape  for  marketing  and  either  selling  to 
different  markets,  or  else  are  putting  them  in  storage  to  hold  for  later 
sale.  Those  who  have  even  a  slight  acquaintance  with  the  innumerable 
brotherhood  engaged  in  growing,  buying  and  shipping  poultry,  butter, 
eggs,  apples,  potatoes,  onions  and  various  other  produce  will  bear  wit- 
ness that  a  more  intelligent  class  of  men  than  these  good  souls,  taking 
them  all  in  all,  cannot  be  found.  The  business  makes  a  man  study  for 
it  is  always  complex  and  interesting. 

But  there  are  shippers  and  shippers.  We  shall  see  later  on  how  one 
sometimes  makes  trouble  for  himself  by  his  eagerness  to  get  rich  quick, 
a  malady  far  too  prevalent  among  our  people.  We  shall  later  consider  a 
certain  type  of  shipper  who  has  his  weak  side  morally  and  who  fre- 
quently gets  himself  in  hot  water  as  well  as  his  fellows  and  the  trade 
generally.  We  shall  also  take  up  the  shipper  in  his  numerous  guises 
and  functions,  and  endeavor  to  bring  out  several  conclusions  for  him, 
and  to  offer  some  suggestions  for  his  personal  benefit  before  we  shall 
have  concluded  the  last  chapter  in  this  work. 

The  produce  commission  merchant  is  a  factor  or  an  agent  who  does  a 
general  receiving  business  and  who  sells  goods  for  the  account  of  others 
on  a  percentage  basis  which  varies  for  different  commodities  in  different 
markets  under  different  conditions.  However,  most  staple  lines  are 
practically  uniform  all  over  the  country  so  far  as  the  commissions  go, 
but  as  I  shall  take  up  both  the  commission  men  and  their  commissions  for 
frequent  discussion  later  on  I  prefer  to  leave  them  for  the  present,  for 
it  would  be  impossible  to  bring  out  in  this  chapter  certain  features  that 
are  essential  to  a  complete  understanding  of  these  people  who  are  too 
often  misjudged  and  misunderstood,  but  whose  work  and  even  themselves 
often  are  judged  more  wisely  than  they  know. 

The  broker  is  a  man  who  buys  or  sells  for  another  and  who  also  works 
on  a  percentage  basis  which  is  usually  one-quarter  of  one  per  cent  of  the 
purchase  price,  or  else  so  much  a  package  and  sometimes  a  bonus  be- 
sides. Some  articles  are  handled  on  a  car  lot  basis.  Some  brokers  are 


6        PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

receivers  while  others  are  not.  A  broker  may  be  located  at  one  place  all 
the  time,  and  then  there  is  another  species  of  broker  who  travels  all  or 
part  of  the  time  making  such  purchases  or  sales  for  his  clients  as  he  may 
be  instructed  to  execute  from  time  to  time.  And  the  broker  may  also 
travel  exclusively  to  sell  goods,  for  there  are  many  brokers  who  are 
adepts  at  finding  a  market,  and  there  are  conditions  which  develop  oc- 
casionally that  make  a  good  broker  a  real  blessing  in  relieving  a  con- 
gested market  by  finding  an  outlet  for  surplus  supplies.  We  shall  also 
see  more  of  the  broker  in  subsequent  chapters. 

The  jobber  of  fruits  and  produce  is  an  intermediary  between  the  whole- 
saler and  the  retailer.  He  handles  car  lots  or  less  and  sometimes  both, 
as  circumstances  may  require.  Some  jobbers  deal  in  car  lots  exclusively, 
and  a  jobber  must  have  adaptability  and  regulate  his  purchases  according 
to  the  demands  of  his  trade.  His  territory  and  his  clientage  may  be  re- 
stricted, or  he  may  branch  out  everywhere  if  he  can  get  orders  and  pro- 
cure goods  to  fill  them.  Roughly  speaking,  the  jobber  keeps  a  "fruit 
house"  or  some  other  base  of  supply,  and  these  are  usually  located  in 
the  smaller  towns  that  make  it  easy  to  obtain  and  distribute  all  kinds 
of  fruits  and  produce  in  certain  seasons,  at  least  throughout  adjacent 
territory  where  still  smaller  towns  are  located  that  are  not  sufficiently 
large  to  buy  fruits,  etc.  in  car  lots  or  in  large  wholesale  lots.  Wholesale 
receivers  are  often  engaged  part  or  all  of  the  time  in  doing  a  jobbing 
business. 

The  retailer  sells  to  the  consumer.  This  class  of  traders  is  made 
up  of  a  widely  different  aggregation.  The  retailer  may  have  only  a  push 
cart  with  a  few  bananas,  oranges,  apples,  etc.,  or  he  may  have  a  stand  on 
the  street  corner  where  a  little  larger  stock  of  a  slightly  wider  range 
is  carried  than  is  handled  by  the  push  cart.  The  retailer  of  fruits  may 
also  be  in  a  cigar  store  where  fruits  are  kept  as  a  side-line,  or  he  may 
be  in  the  corner  grocery  or  in  the  delicatessen  store,  in  which  two  places 
people  in  cities  procure  most  food  stuffs,  where  outrageous  prices 
are  frequently  charged  for  fruits  and  produce,  and  where  the  consump- 
tive demand  is  often  badly  affected,  as  we  shall  see  later  on. 

Again,  the  retailer  may  be  one  of  that  imported  class  of  citizens  who 
comes  over  steerage  from  Europe  and  who,  through  thrift  and  self  denial, 
has  accumulated  enough  to  buy  a  spavined  horse  and  a  dilapidated  wagon 
which  is  stocked  up  usually  with  cheap  goods  to  be  paraded  daily  through 
districts  inhabited  mostly  by  the  laboring  classes,  and  which  parading  is 
done  ceremoniously  to  the  musical  chiming  of  a  dinner  bell  and  a  choice 
selection  of  broken  English  announcing  "Fr-e-s-h  berries,  peas, 
tomat-o-e-s,  e-e-s,  e-e-s  fresh,  ees  f-r-e-s-h."  But  this  noise  is  being  heard 
less  and  less  in  our  larger  cities  for  it  is  clearly  a  nuisance. 


THE  TRADE  DEFINED  AND  DISCUSSED  7 

In  short,  the  retailer  may  be  almost  any  kind  of  salesman  who  cares 
to  undertake  to  sell  fruits  and  produce.  The  fact  that  there  are  so  many 
types  is  a  safe  indication  of  the  immense  business  they  represent  in  the 
aggregate,  for  be  it  known  to  all  men,  there  is  an  ever  increasing  demand 
for  fruits  and  produce  that  has  never  been  fully  supplied  and  probably 
never  will  be.  But  we  shall  also  see  more  of  this  later. 

In  making  up  even  an  approximately  complete  list  of  the  different 
people  in  the  trade  it  would  be  impossible  even  if  desirable  to  leave  out 
those  fellows  we  all  know  about,  who  for  convenience  are  called  buyers  or 
solicitors;  nobody  knows  exactly  what  they  are,  but  still  they  are  known 
to  be  everywhere  and  always  in  action.  May  the  Lord  bless  the  solicitors 
and  prepare  them  a  resting  place  hereafter,  for  it  is  a  fact  they  have 
little  rest  on  this  mundane  sphere,  nor  do  they  allow  anyone  else  a  rest 
when  they  drop  off  at  an  active  shipping  station  unless  they  can  get  a 
shipment  rolling  on  the  next  train  to  the  houses  they  represent.  There 
is  a  tradition  in  some  sections  of  the  country  that  when  a  lightning  rod 
agent  dies  he  undergoes  a  metamorphosis  that  evolves  a  fruit  or  produce 
solicitor.  Certain  it  is  that  most  of  these  solicitors  are  mellifluous  gentle- 
men who  can  assure  a  score  of  shippers  at  one  sitting  that  a  porcelain 
door  knob  is  a  veritable  hot  bed  on  which  to  grow  hair.  Surely,  if  there 
is  anything  the  solicitor  for  a  produce  house  needs,  and  usually  has,  it 
is  "brass,"  even  if  his  firm  is  not  always  "gilt  edge."  But  if  his  house  is 
one  of  the  kind  that  sends  out  long  promises  and  short,  slow  returns,  the 
solicitor  finds  that  "brass"  will  not  go,  for  the  shippers  nowadays  are 
getting  wise  and  the  precious  metals,  such  as  gold  or  silver  or  the  "long 
green"  itself  must  be  called  into  play,  and  the  solicitor,  it  often  happens, 
is  no  longer  a  solicitor  for  consignments,  but  a  buyer  for  cash. 

But  because  a  solicitor  turns  buyer  is  no  indication  he  does  so  from 
necessity,  for  it  occurs  now  and  then  that  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  a 
telegram  may  be  flashed  over  the  wires  from  headquarters  telling  the  red 
hot  solicitor  "Buy  everything  in  sight."  How  and  why  this  happens 
we  shall  see  in  later  discussions.  But  the  solicitors  are  a  good  class  of 
fellows  taken  all  in  all,  and  I  have  a  firm  conviction  that  most  of  them 
earn  every  penny  they  draw  for  salary  and  about  all  the  items  they  are 
charged  with  entering  for  "expenses." 

Another  group  of  individuals  that  is  entitled  by  all  rules  of  law  and 
reason  to  stand  up  with  the  produce  public  and  enjoy  all  the  rights  and 
immunities  granted  to  the  trade  is  the  aggregation  of  storage  men,  for 
the  cold  and  common  storages  play  a  very  important  part  in  the  business 
done  by  produce  people,  about  which  we  shall  have  more  or  less  to  say 
later  on.  The  storage  men  are  scattered  everywhere,  but  are  found  in 


8        PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

larger  numbers,  as  they  are  also  found  more  prosperous,  in  the  larger 
market  centers.  They  differ  in  nowise  from  ordinary  individuals,  and  it 
must  be  said  in  plain  English  their  ranks  are  made- up -of  good  and  bad, 
although  it  can  be  stated  that  most  of  them  have  their  hearts  in  the 
right  places  and  their  services  to  the  trade  are  important  and  valuable. 

The  function  of  the  storage  is  to  take  care  of  goods  and  provide  ware- 
house facilities  during  certain  seasons  of  the  year  when  supplies  are 
in  excess  of  the  consumptive  demands  of  the  country,  and  when  a  profit 
seems  likely  from  investment  in  such  commodities  at  ruling  prices  if 
properly  stored  for  later  sale.  Further  discussion  of  the  storages  and 
storage  men  is  deferred  in  this  connection. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  saying  a  few  words  about  the  men  who  sell 
fruits  and  produce  and  who  are  located  in  the  stores,  on  the  sidewalks 
or  throughout  the  various  market  places,  or  who  go  down  on  the  rail- 
road tracks  or  on  the  docks  in  fair  weather  and  foul,  and  who  must  be  at 
their  places  taking  care  of  customers  frequently  when  "the  morning  stars 
are  singing  together  in  glory." 

But  there  is  another  type  of  salesman  who  travels  and  travels  and 
travels.  That  it  requires  a  high  order  of  intelligence  to  be  a  successful 
salesman  in  any  line  is  a  fact  admitted  by  all,  and  I  think  it  carries  an 
additional  force  when  applied  to  the  produce  business.  If  the  average 
shipper,  and  even  a  number  of  commission  men  themselves,  realized  the 
true  worth  of  a  good  salesman  the  former  would  take  off  their  hats  in 
honor  to  the  brotherhood,  and  I  believe  a  great  many  of  the  latter  would 
incline  to  raise  the  salesmen's  salary  and  make  it  a  universal  rule  for 
them  to  take  Saturday  afternoons  off  the  year  around  if  possible.  No- 
body who  has  a  fair  acquaintance  with  this  class  of  the  trade  will  deny 
that  the  salesmen  are  generally  skilled  in  their  work,  faithful,  con- 
scientious, and  above  all  things,  energetic  in  "picking  up"  every  sucker 
that  passes  down  the  row. 

It  is  also  necessary  to  include  in  our  survey  of  the  trade  that  vast 
concourse  of  men  and  women  known  as  the  "office  force"  who  are  part 
and  parcel  of  the  produce  aggregation,  for  there  is  no  getting  around  this 
fact.  These  people  frequently  develop  into  commission  merchants,  pro- 
duce dealers  or  jobbers  themselves,  and  not  a  few  of  the  leading  lights 
in  the  trade  today  remember  well  the  time  when  they  started  in  the 
business  making  up  account  sales,  getting  out  circular  letters  and  advis- 
ing shippers  on  every  conceivable  topic,  as  well  as  performing  an  in- 
finite series  of  chores  and  detail  work.  It  is  also  true  that  numbers  of 
successful  proprietors  and  members  of  firms  in  the  trade  that  are  well 
up  the  ladder  of  success  were  once  identified  with  the  ranks  of  solicitors, 


THE  TRADE  DEFINED  AND  DISCUSSED  9 

salesmen,  retailers  and  other  positions  where  salaries  or  profits  were 
small,  and  where  the  work  was  probably  laborious  and  distasteful.  But 
the  pronounced)  success  of  numbers  of  these  men  in  after  years  proves 
one  point  that  I  have  in  mind  and  which  I  had  as  well  express  here  as 
elsewhere;  towit,  the  produce  business  in  its  various  branches  offers 
splendid  opportunities  to  the  right  people,  and  I  hazard  the  prediction 
that  there  are  more  and  larger  fortunes  to  be  made  from  this  line  of 
business  in  the  future  than  have  been  made  in  the  past. 

The  speculator  is  another  individual  who  deserves  a  brief  mention 
in  this  connection,  but  who  will  be  better  understood  in  a  later  chapter 
to  be  devoted  mostly  to  his  special  benefit  and  to  his  peculiar  line  of 
operations,  but  through  fear  of  being  charged  with  harboring  some  preju- 
dice against  the  speculator,  which  I  disclaim,  I  prefer  to  stand  him 
up  at  the  present  time  in  company  with  the  balance  of  the  trade  and  let 
him  be  counted. 

The  crook  also  deserves  mention  if  for  no  other  reason  than  to  show 
that  the  trade  is  not  free  from  the  black  sheep  usually  found  in  any  and 
every  line  of  business.  I  shall  elaborate  considerably  on  the  crook  and 
his  methods  later  on,  and  I  hope  to  draw  some  conclusions  which  will  show 
that  the  crook  is  not  the  sole  gainer  through  his  crookedness,  but  that 
he  is  an  educator  who  will  one  day  probably  be  given  credit  for  his  edu- 
cative value,  for  it  cannot  be  gainsaid  that  the  crooks  who  follow  the 
produce  business  have  had  a  wide  and  lasting  influence  in  educating  the 
trade  generally.  But  this  question  is  also  worthy  of  special  treatment 
later  on  and  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  take  up  a  chapter  in  itself. 

I  regret  that  circumstances  dictate  my  adding  just  one  other  type 
found  in  the  ranks  of  the  people  whose  fortunes  are  cast  in  the  produce 
band  wagon.  He  is  no  less  a  person  than  the  grouch.  He  is  hard  to 
define,  although  easy  to  locate  in  some  markets,  and  in  some  places  he 
is  in  the  plural  number.  To  all  appearances  he  has  a  torpid  liver,  the 
toothache  and  a  congenital  attack  of  pure  cussedness;  he  is  sore  on  his 
competitors,  the  trade  and  the  public  generally.  He  is  positive  of  the 
conviction  that  everything  is  rapidly  drifting  to  the  "demnition  bow- 
wows," and  he  apparently  regards  himself  the  pilot  that  is  trying  to 
steer  all  creation  up  Salt  Creek.  The  most  lamentable  shortcoming  of 
the  grouch  is  that  he  never  smiles,  but  that  is  what  makes  him  a  grouch. 
I  wish  some  rule  could  be  established  whereby  shippers  and  dealers 
would  require  commission  houses  and  others  in  the  trade  with  whom 
they  do  business  to  submit  proof  that  proprietors  and  heads  of  depart- 
ments of  houses  have  made  an  affidavit  at  least  once  a  week  that  they 
have  smiled  about  something,  and  that  once  a  month  or  probably  once 
a  year  they  be  required  to  give  bond  that  they  will  have  a  good  laugh. 


10       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

I  have  no  special  grouch  for  the  produce  grouch,  for  I  frequently 
laugh  at  his  very  penuriousness,  and  I  wish  the  trade  everywhere  would 
help  me  laugh  him  out  of  existence.  I  have  a  grave  doubt  if  any  man 
can  be  a  success  handling  anything  in  the  produce  line  who  is  unable  to 
smile  even  when  he  is  in  wrong  on  a  deal  and  is  losing  instead  of  making 
money. 

Everybody  in  the  trade  should  be  cheerful,  for  there  is  no  calling  under 
the  sun  that  needs  more  sunshine  and  sympathy  than  the  produce  business. 

It  is  a  foregone  conclusion  I  would  incur  the  everlasting  animosity  of 
another  class  of  people  if  I  should  overlook  grouping  them  in  the  produce 
procession,  and  you  guessed  right — the  trade  paper  men. 

Yes,  these  boys  who  are  as  keen  after  a  story  or  an  ad  as  a  trout  for  a 
fly^  must  be  allowed  to  go  into  our  census. 

Beyond  doubt  many  of  them  are  of  vast  benefit  to  all  others  in  the  trade. 


CHAPTER    II 

CROOKS  AND  STRAIGHTS 

Although  we  have  made  several  classifications  in  the  last  chapter  in- 
cluding different  people  engaged  in  the  fruit  and  produce  business,  we 
still  have  another  important  distinction  to  draw  which  will  divide  the 
rank  and  file  into  two  grand  divisions,  viz.:  the  crooks  and  the  straights. 

I  see  no  chance  for  an  intermediate  division,  as  there  can  be  no  half 
way  ground.  I  hold  that  there  is  no  such  thing  in  reality  as  near  honesty. 
A  firm  or  an  individual  must  be  positively  straight  or  positively  crooked, 
and  while  a  good  reputation  is  a  valuable  asset,  it  does  not  per  se  give 
one  a  passport  to  enter  at  will  that  realm  of  visions  and  dreams  where 
plus  is  minus  and  minus  plus,  and  where  the  truth  is  juggled  with  as 
a  fakir  does  with  painted  balls.  I  make  no  apology  for  expressing  the 
utmost  contempt  for  some  individuals  and  firms  who  are  alleged  to  be  sub- 
stantial pillars  in  the  produce  business,  and  who  sometimes  exhibit  a 
fondness  for  parading  before  the  trade  in  a  "holier  than  thou"  attitude, 
but  who  are  inwardly  ravening  wolves. 

The  commission  merchant  who  violates  his  pledges,  expressed  or  im- 
plied, neglects  his  duties,  repudiates  his  obligations  both  moral  and  legal, 
who  is  fond  of  shielding  himself  behind  technicalities,  who  has  every 
advantage  and  uses  it  as  occasion  requires,  is  a  menace  to  the  trade  at 
large  and  merits  the  fullest  censure  that  can  be  heaped  upon  him. 

Likewise  the  shipper  who  seeks  to  defraud  by  means  of  dishonest  pack, 
who  breaks  faith  by  refusing  to  live  up  to  his  contracts  and  agreements 
cither  written  or  verbal,  and  who  goes  on  the  general  theory  that  he  must 
do  everyone  before  someone  does  him,  is  also  a  menace  to  the  trade  and 
should  be  the  recipient  of  hard  knocks,  ill  luck,  losses,  disappointments 
and  other  jolts  to  show  him  he  is  a  nuisance  and  has  or  should  have  no 
place  in  the  great  produce  business. 

But  like  the  poor,  the  crooks,  known  and  unknown,  are  with  us  always. 
Some  are  big  and  some  are  little;  some  operate  under  cover  and  usually 

11 


12       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

under  a  system  that  almost  defies  detection  and  punishment,  and  there 
is  another  and  more  malignant  type  that  operates  on  a  "catch  me  if  you 
can"  system.  I  have  promised  to  dispense  with  figures  and  statistics 
else  I  should  be  strongly  tempted  to  submit  some  facts  about  the  amount 
of  money  stolen  bodily  every  year  by  the  dyed-in-the-wool  produce 
crooks.  From  actual  compilation  it  is  known  that  the  trade  has  been 
stuck  for  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  during  the  past  few  years 
by  the  confirmed  crooks  who  are  out  for  a  steal,  and  who  succeed  pre- 
sumably because  they  have  the  opportunity  and  the  inclination. 

How  much  is  stolen  quietly  under  cover  and  how  much  is  "knocked 
down"  during  a  twelve-month  by  the  kid  glove  crowd,  heaven  only  knows, 
but  it  would  certainly  total  many  times  over  what  is  stolen  by  the  more 
daring  fellows  who  set  out  for  a  clean  up  and  who  are  game  enough 
to  give  their  victims  a  run  for  their  money. 

I  trust  none  will  be  so  rash  as  to  judge  from  the  foregoing  that  I 
mean  to  say  that  everybody  in  the  produce  business  is  crooked  or  morally 
deficient;  I  have  not  said  as  much  and  I  never  shall,  for  it  would  be 
untrue  and  I  know  it.  There  are  as  good  men  in  the  produce  trade,  and 
men  who  are  as  truthful,  as  faithful  and  as  honorable,  as  can  be  found 
in  any  other  line  of  business.  Many  of  this  latter  kind  who  take  the 
world  to  be  honest  because  they  are  honest  themselves,  are  often  forced 
into  measures  they  dislike  and  look  upon  with  disfavor,  but  are  com- 
pelled to  fight  the  devil  with  fire,  as  it  were. 

The  shipper  or  association  of  shippers  that  secures  a  bank  guarantee 
or  an  advance  covering  a  certain  shipment  by  making  false  representa- 
tions as  to  grade  or  quality  of  a  shipment  or  series  of  shipments,  and 
who  refuse  to  keep'  faith  with  a  commission  man  or  buyer  in  a  distant 
market  by  an  honest  adjustment  of  losses  so  caused,  and  deliberately  too, 
will  live  to  find  they  have  stored  up  trouble  against  a  day  when  re- 
tributive justice  will  certainly  overtake  them,  and  possibly  with  a  crack 
over  the  head  in  one  form  or  another. 

On  the  contrary,  the  receiver  wlio  misrepresents  market  conditions  by 
overquotations,  or  who  makes  a  practice  of  padding  first  sales  to  secure 
heavier  shipments  with  a  view  to  recouping  his  "bait"  by  clipping  off 
on  averages,  is  only  tampering  with  fire  that  will  sooner  or  later  burn 
his  fingers  and  possibly  retire  him  from  business. 

I  fancy  someone  will  charge  me  with  taking  this  question  into  deep 
water  or  putting  it  on  too  narrow  a  plane.  To  such  I  want  to  emphasize 
that  it  is  only  a  moral  principle  which  is  involved,  and  it  should  not  be 
too  deep,  too  narrow  or  too  broad  for  anyone  to  see  and  to  solve.  The 
old,  old  truism  that  none  are  so  blind  as  those  who  do  not  want  to  see 
is  applicable  to  this  question  with  double  force. 


CROOKS  AND  STRAIGHTS  13 

Surely  there  is  sound  logic  behind  me  in  my  argument  that  dishonesty 
does  not  pay  in  the  long  run,  and  I  do  not  mean  beyond  the  grave  either, 
for  I  have  no  license  to  dig  into  the  theological  phase  of  the  subject. 
My  case  is  amply  proved  without  it,  so  why  should  I  rattle  dry  bones  ? 

But  I  am  sometimes  given  to  metaphysical  musings  over  this  question 
of  crooks  and  straights.  I  am  frank  to  say  I  have  no  explanation  to 
offer  as  to  why  the  crooks  appear  to  flourish  and  continue  if  dishonesty 
does  not  pay.  Were  J  pressed  to  explain,  I  should  in  true  Yankee  style 
answer  one  question  by  asking  another,  and  my  question  would  be  "Why 
is  evil  in  the  universe?"  And  I  feel  confident  my  sage  interrogator  would 
have  a  nut  to  crack  that  would  last  him  awhile,  but  deep  within  whose 
kernel  would  lie  the  answer  and  the  true  solution. 

However,  I  refuse  to  argue  this  theory  of  destiny  as  a  mitigating 
circumstance  for  the  crooks,  as  I  believe  in  law  and  its  enforcement,  in 
order  and  its  observance,  in  honesty  and  its  reward;  in  short,  I  am  one 
of  that  old  fashioned,  wool-hat  brigade  that  take  more  or  less  stock  in 
such  ancient  precepts  as  "Do  unto  others  as  you  would  have  them  do  unto 
you."  Understand,  this  declaration  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  the 
author  is  heading  a  crusade  to  put  the  whole  produce  trade  on  the  "golden 
rule"  basis,  though  he  is  firmly  convinced  that  if  it  were  run  more  nearly 
on  that  plan  it  would  yield  more  pleasure  as  well  as  more  legitimate 
profit  to  everyone. 

But  whatever  else  we  may  say  of  the  crooks,  they  must  be  given  credit 
for  being  great  educators.  Indeed,  they  are  the  pedagogues  of  the  pro- 
duce trade.  They  do  more  to  teach  shippers  and  the  trade  generally  than 
a  whole  library  would  do  at  every  shipping  station  or  in  every  market 
place.  When  the  smooth  crook  sends  out  a  lot  of  rainbow  promises  on 
morning  glory  stationery  to  hundreds  of  gullible  shippers;  and  they  are 
caught  as  has  been  the  case  so  often,  it  is  a  reasonably  safe  bet  that 
the  trick  will  not  be  repeated  soon  in  that  bailiwick,  at  least  with  the 
same  shippers  and  the  same  crook,  or  even  by  another  crook  who  ope- 
rates in  a  similar  way. 

Before  proceeding  further,  however,  I  want  to  go  on  record  with  the 
statement  that  actual  figures  from  authentic  sources  show  that  losses  to 
the  trade  generally  from  professional  produce  crooks  are  actually  on 
the  decrease  compared  with  several  years  ago.  This  desirable  state  of 
affairs  is  no  doubt  due  to  several  causes,  but  mainly  to  the  fact  that 
some  of  the  oldest  and  shrewdest  crooks  have  been  caught,  con- 
victed and  are  now  doing  time,  and  to  the  additional  fact  that  the  trade's 
eyes  have  been  opened  and  the  old  system  of  shooting  into  the  dark  with 
a  blunderbuss  is  being  abandoned  for  a  more  modern;  business-like  system 


14       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

after  which  to  do  business.  Shippers  who  receive  flattering  quotations 
or  high  offers  for  their  produce,  and  dealers  who  are  approached  by  letter, 
by  wire  or  by  personal  visit  from  people  making  impossible  promises  and 
offers,  have  learned  that  it  is  not  good  judgment  to  try  to  get  something 
for  nothing.  May  I  also  be  permitted  to  come  out  with  the  flat-footed 
statement  that  from  a  moral  standpoint  the  traue  has  improved  and  is 
still  improving?  The  law  of  evolution  is  at  work  throughout  the  universe, 
so  the  scientists  say,  and  it  is  not  hard  to  see  where  and  how  it  could  be 
applied  with  signal  advantage  to  the  produce  business  as  heretofore  con- 
ducted. Since  I  am  a  confirmed  optimist  and  am  given  up  to  a  philosophy 
that  believes  in  the  eternal  fitness  of  things,  I  must  say  that  I  have  high 
hopes  that  hundreds  of  people  in  the  business  will  one  day  go  into  sack- 
cloth and  ashes  and  come  forth  bringing  fruits  meet  for  repentance. 

And  why  not?  It  is  becoming  more  and  more  evident  all  the  time  that 
sharp  practices  and  dishonest  dealings  do  not  pay.  The  confirmed  crooks 
who  are  drifting  from  pillar  to  post,  those  who  have  evaded  arrest  and 
conviction,  could  tell  you  not  only  about  the  mental  anguish  they  suffer, 
but  also  the  enormous  sums  they  spend  to  keep  out  of  the  clutches  of  the 
law.  The  receiver  of  fruits  and  produce  whose  fixed  plan  is  to  skin 
shippers  when  he  has  the  chance,  could  write  an  excellent  moral  treatise 
showing  why  it  is  best  not  to  do  it,  especially  if  he  is  approached  in  his 
declining  years  when  he  has  had  time  for  sober  reflection,  and  when  he 
has  realized  that  life  is  too  short  and  the  stake  is  too  small,  and  the  pangs 
of  conscience  are  too  acute  and  lasting  to  make  crooked  dealing  worth 
while. 

I  know  this  viewpoint  is  strictly  ethical,  but  that  is  the  only  stand- 
point from  which  to  look  the  matter  squarely  in  the  face.  I  disclaim 
all  intentions  of  delivering  a  preachment  or  to  hedge  this  question  about 
with  dogmatic  stuff,  and  my  sole  aim  is  to  establish  a  foundation  on 
simple  moral  principles  which  are  easily  recognized  even  by  a  school  boy 
once  they  are  set  out  clearly  before  him.  I  trust  no  one  will  hazard  a 
criticism  on  his  good  judgment  by  advancing  the  argument  that  the 
theory  I  suggest  is  not  correct  and  does  not  hold  the  only  proper  solu- 
tion which  offers  no  compromise  with  dishonesty  in  any  shape  or  form. 
I  am  fully  aware  that  the  bold  plunge  used  by  the  daring  crooks  has  its 
fascinations,  and  I  presume  the  slow,  certain  process  of  robbery,  taking 
off  a  bit  here  and  a  bit  there  as  practiced  by  some  "old  houses,"  with  a 
view  to  piling  up  an  aggregate,  also  has  its  momentary  charms,  for  they 
seem  to  lure  the  individual  on  and  on  like  the  song  of  a  siren.  But  over 
and  beyond  this  consideration  of  gain  stands  a  gaunt  spectre  taking  due 
notice,  and  who  will  later  thrust  a  finger  before  the  face -of  the  guilty 


A  WASHINGTON  APPLE  TREE  31/'  YEARS  OLD 


CROOKS  AND  STRAIGHTS  15 

one  and  ask  the  pointed  question  "Is  it  worth  while?"  And  the  question 
is  repeated  from  time  to  time  under  more  and  more  awe  inspiring  cir- 
cumstances until  a  negative  answer  is  finally  obtained. 

But  someone  asks  "How  are  we  to  tell  what  is  honest  and  what  is 
dishonest?"  Occasions  often  arise  that  require  skilled  judgment  to 
determine  where  legal  or  moral  principles  have  been  abused,  and  to  as- 
certain liabilities,  damages,  etc.  Long  spun  out  litigation  in  the  hands 
of  experienced  attorneys  and  before  dignified  courts  often  apparently 
amount  to  nothing  in  arriving  at  what  is  right  and  what  is  wrong.  If 
these  trained  men  are  unable  to  establish  rights  and  wrongs  and  apply 
their  proper  remedies,  which  should  be  based  on  moral  remedies,  then  how 
is  the  ordinary  individual  without  special  training  in  dealing  with  such 
questions  to  know  how  best  to  proceed,  especially  in  such  cases  where 
there  is  alleged  to  be  a  reasonable  doubt  as  to  what  is  right  and  what  is 
wrong? 

I  have  no  desire  to  cast  an  aspersion  upon  our  judicial  system  or  upon 
the  proverbial  majesty  of  the  law.  But  this  much  I  do  wish  to  say,  that 
in  many  cases  where  simple  moral  questions  are  involved,  and  where  any 
person  of  even  ordinary  intelligence  should  be  able  promptly  to  settle 
the  matter  at  issue  in  a  proper  way,  the  courts  frequently  take  days  and 
sometimes  months  for  deliberation,  and  evolve  a  learned  opinion  that 
does  not  solve  the  question  or  questions  involved,  but  through  delay  and 
quibbling  tend  to  lessen  the  respect  and  confidence  intelligent  people  are 
supposed  to  have  for  our  courts  and  our  laws.  Shrewd  attorneys  too 
often  becloud  the  facts  instead  of  trying  to  ferret  out  and  exhibit  the 
truth.  In  short,  a  legal  battle  is  often  no  contest  of  law  but  simply  one 
of  subterfuge,  diplomacy,  bull-dozing  courts,  witnesses  and  jurors,  and 
sometimes  descending  to  downright  slug-duggery. 

The  very  essense  of  justice  is  simplicity.  Conscience  and  reason 
are  the  two  pillows  on  which  it  should  and  must  rest.  Within  every  brain 
there  is  a  sure  and  quiet  guide  as  to  what  is  right  and  what  is  wrong,  and 
if  properly  and  honestly  consulted,  the  fairly  intelligent  mind  will  always 
give  a  prompt  and  safe  answer  by  which  to  be  guided  in  the  produce  busi- 
ness, as  in  every  other  line.  And  I  must  say  that  this  guide  is  infinitely 
to  be  preferred  to  all  the  musty  statutes  and  court  decisions  that  have 
been  enacted  and  handed  down  since  the  time  of  Solon. 

I  think  it  raises  no  issue  whatever  for  anyone  in  the  trade  to  draw 
out  such  false  arguments  as  "I  think  I  have  done  no  wrong"  or  "I  have 
done  nothing  worse  than  all  the  rest."  Such  statements  only  reflect  on 
one's  judgment  and  if  they  are  sincere  their  author  should  either  be 
put  through  a  Sunday  School  catechism  or  else  tried  on  a  writ  of  lunacy. 


16  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

I  repeat,  dishonesty  does  not  pay.  It  may  cause  a  flare  on  the  produce 
horizon  that  looms  up  like  the  aurora  borealis,  but  such  successes  as 
come  from  dishonesty  and  trickery  are  more  like  shadow  than  substance, 
and  will  certainly  be  dissipated  sooner  or  later,  most  likely  leaving  a 
blighting  effect  behind. 

I  had  not  intended  to  devote  so  much  time  to  this  phase  of  the  sub- 
ject, nor  even  to  treat  it  just  as  I  have,  but  I  insist  there  is  no  other 
standpoint  from  which  the  matter  can  be  properly  seen,  and  it  must 
and  will  be  properly  seen  sooner  or  later  by  everyone  concerned. 

Too  often  produce  crooks  are  born,  but  I  incline  to  the  belief  that 
more  crooks  are  made  from  environment  than  are  crooked  from  heredity. 
The  very  nature  of  the  business  we  have  under  discussion  is  one  that  re- 
quires trust,  and  trust  invariably  opens  up  an  opportunity  for  wrong 
-loing. 

A  very  large  percentage  of  the  produce  bought  and  sold  year  in  and 
year  out  all  over  the  country  is  never  seen  by  the  purchaser  until  he 
has  already  paid  for  what  he  has  bought,  and  maybe  the  man  from  whom 
he  bought  did  not  see  the  goods  himself.  An  accurate  system  of  grading 
and  packing  would,  therefore,  afford  a  remedy  for  a  large  number  of 
misunderstandings  about  the  quality,  value  and  condition  of  fruits  and 
produce. 

Transportation  is  at  times  a  big  factor  in  determining  losses  or  mak- 
ing profits,  and  we  shall  see  later  on  that  transportation  at  best  is 
always  uncertain  and  a  dangerous  element  to  gamble  on  too  far.  But 
transportation  has  to  be  reckoned  with,  and  if  too  slow  or  otherwise 
deficient,  often  gives  rise  to  disputes  that  cause  trouble  and  losses. 

But  even  if  grading  and  packing  were  put  on  a  system  that  is 
mathematically  perfect,  if  transportation  were  always  sure  and  speedy, 
still  the  personal  equations  of  buyer  and  seller  have  to  be  reckoned  with, 
and  in  the  last  analysis  we  are  up  against  the  old  question  so  often  asked 
and  so  rarely  answered  correctly,  "Am  I  in  the  hands  of  an  honest  man 
or  an  honest  house?" 

To  undertake  to  enumerate  the  several  main  causes  of  dishonesty  and 
sharp  practices  in  the  produce  business  would  require  more  time  and 
more  space  than  I  have  at  my  disposal.  Greed,  ignorance,  jealousy  and 
pure  cussedness  include  the  leading  excuses  for  crooked  dealing,  I  pre- 
sume, if  the  truth  could  be  known  why  some  firms  and  individuals  choose 
to  become  its  votaries. 

The  desire  to  get  something  for  nothing,  or  to  get  rich  quick,  which 
has  become  so  widespread  in  this  country  as  to  embrace  well  nigh  all 
the  population,  is  made  use  of  both  by  the  confirmed  produce  crook  and 


CROOKS  AND  STRAIGHTS  17 

the  slick  gent  in  kid  gloves,  who  nevertheless  may  masquerade  as  a  model 
dealer. 

It  was  remarked  in  olden  times  that  men  easily  believe  what  they 
wish  to  be  true,  and  I  must  say  that  the  converse  of  this  also  holds  good. 
The  country  merchant  who  has  an  opportunity  to  buy  up  a  lot  of  poultry 
or  eggs  during  the  active  shipping  season  and  make  a  "mint  of  money," 
and  who  gets  some  overquotations  which  he  knows  or  ought  to  know 
are  out  of  line  with  common  sense,  and  who  plunges  headlong  into  buy- 
ing and  shipping  several  cars  of  stock  into  which  he  has  put  several 
thousand  dollars  of  cash  money,  is  no  doubt  actuated  from  the  same 
motives  that  inspire  our  grandees  on  the  stock  exchange  and  the  pro- 
motors  of  various  fake  enterprises,  for  they  are  all  looking  for  easy  money. 
The  only  difference  I  see  between  them  is  that  -the  stock  jobbers  and 
promoters  usually  find  the  money  they  are  looking  for,  although  they 
may  soon  part  company  with  it  to  other  sharpers,  but  the  country  mer- 
chant who  had  dreams  about  retiring  from  business  on  his  poultry  or 
egg  profits  is  generally  left  without  his  investment  even,  to  say  nothing 
of  his  prospective  gain.  I  shall  not  try  to  disprove  that  the  expectant 
merchant  is  a  wiser  although  a  poorer  man,  and  it  is  dollars  to  doughnuts 
that  he  profits  from  the  experience  referred  to.  There  are  hundreds  of 
these  fellows  over  the  country  too. 

I  think  it  fair  and  proper  in  this  connection  to  make  the  statement 
that  after  observing  carefully  for  several  years  all  kinds  of  produce 
people  and  their  methods,  I  am  convinced  some  men  do  questionable 
things  not  from  choice  but  from  apparent  necessity  which  is  brought 
about  by  insane  competition  often  too  malignant  and  widespread  in  the 
trade. 

Sometimes  it  is  a  fierce  struggle  in  the  produce  game  to  obtain  new 
business  and,  forsooth,  to  hold  old  business.  In  a  growing  section  where 
shipments  are  being  lined  up  by  commission  men,  say  upon  a  three 
per  cent  rebate  to  local  agents  for  soliciting  consignments,  a  certain 
competitor  of  a  certain  house  in  a  certain  market  who  is  either  not  "in" 
on  that  section,  or  who  does  not  secure  as  much  business  there  as  he 
wants  and  thinks  he  should  have,  will  have  a  representative  visit  the 
section  in  question  and  go  his  competitor  one  better  by  giving  a  four 
per  cent  rebate  to  the  local  who  has  the  influence,  and  is  using  it  to 
throw  too  much  business  to  the  house  he  has  lately  solicited  for  on  a 
three  per  cent  basis.  What  will  the  house  do  that  has  been  paying 
three  per  cent?  In  all  probability  the  rebate  of  three  per  cent  takes 
nearly  half  of  tin-  straight  commission,  and  it  requires  every  penny  of 
tht;  balance  realized  from  commissions  arising  from  sales  of  goods  to  con- 
duct an  honest  business. 


18  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

What  is  the  result? 

Competition  must  be  met? 

It  must? 

Then  why  not  continue  this  folly  and  undertake  to  sell  the  shipments 
at  destination  for  absolutely  no  commissions  and  still  give  a  rebate? 
Such  could  be  done  as  well  as  to  allow  insane,  underhand  methods  to 
make  the  rebate  so  large  as  to  absorb  the  legitimate  profits  arising  from 
handling  the  goods  by  an  honest  commission  house.  Too  often  it  s 
been  the  case  when  a  state  of  affairs  arise  such  as  I  have  indicated,  that 
the  house  rebating  three  per  cent  in  the  first  instance  will  meet  the 
competition,  and  give  the  local  five  per  cent  rebate,  but  it  is  a  safe  bet 
somebody  pays  the  bill  if  a  loss  results  to  the  house  in  handling  the 
shipments,  and  it  easily  can  be  seen  that  the  cost,  which  is  the  loss  in 
this  case,  must  and  will  be  figured  out  of  the  business  some  way.  We 
leave  out  of  consideration  the  matter  of  allowing  a  fair  profit  to  the  com- 
mission house, — here  we  draw  the  veil  and  will  forbear  even  the  sug- 
gestion of  a  steal.  And  if  stealing  is  done  what  is  the  cause?  What 
can  it  be  but  insane  competition?  For  this  malady  there  should  be  a 
remedy,  and  in  a  later  chapter  I  shall  suggest  one. 

Likewise,  an  honest  commission  man  v/ho  knows  it  is  wrong  to  "pad" 
or  "stuff"  account  sales  to  make  it  appear  that  first  shipments  sell  for 
more  than  they  actually  bring  in  order  to  secure  heavy  shipments  later, 
may  have  no  choice  in  so  doing,  but  if  he  knows  you  well  he  will  prob- 
ably explain  confidentially  that  he  has  to  pad  and  stuff  sales  or  his 
"padding"  competitor  will  get  all  his  business  away  fro  im. 

Although  I  cannot  accept  insane  competition  as  a  legitimate  excuse 
for  questionable  practice,  still  we  had  as  well  acknowledge  it  as  a  cause 
for  immorality  and  condemn  it  as  vehemently  as  possible.  All  forms 
of  temptation  which  tend  to  make  produce  people  err  should  be  restricted 
so  far  as  possible  and  totally  removed  when  they  can  be  dispensed  with. 
Whether  moral  restraints  can  be  established  by  co-operation  among  the 
better  element  in  the  trade  so  as  to  provide  a  remedy,  or  whether  a 
rigid  federal  regulation  governing  commission  men  and  their  commis- 
sions will  best  accomplish  it,  or  whether  some  other  plan  should  be 
adopted,  will  come  up  for  full  discussion  before  this  work  is  finished. 

I  have  said  a  good  deal  about  the  crooks  in  the  trade  and  I  shall  have 
more  to  say  later.  The  straights  are  not  being  slighted  by  me  on 
purpose  owing  to  any  failure  of  appreciation  of  their  virtue'  con- 

sidering them  I  have  proceeded  on  the  assumption  that  those  who 
are  whole  need  not  a  physician. 

But  there  are  lots  of  straights  in  the  trade,  although  I  do  not  kr.  ~»w 


CROOKS  AND  STRAIGHTS  19 

them  all.  Nobody  does.  Let  us  rest  in  the  assurance  that  there  is  an 
Kye  that  sees;  and  seeing,  knows;  and  knowing,  will  judge  and  judge 
aright. 

And  let  us  be  broad  enough  and  charitable  enough  to  hope  that  some 
day  it  will  all  come  right,,  and  there  shall  be  no  more  crooks,  but  all  the 
ways  shall  be  straight  and  pleasant  and  eternal,  and  that  all  produce 
men  shall  delight  in  walking  in  that  manner. 

rr^here  may  be  a  millennium  in  the  produce  trade  some  day.  Who 
km.  ..:;?  It  is  not  impossible,  but  it  can  only  come  when  men  are  honest 
with  themselves  as  well  as  with  everyone  else. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE  MAKING  AND  BREAKING  OF  MARKETS 

In  the  matter  of  making  and  maintaining  a  market  it  is  quite  evident 
that  there  must  be  a  buyer  and  a  seller.  It  is  also  necessary  that  the 
former  have  the  wherewithal  to  buy  or  to  give  in  exchange,  and  it  is  also 
essential  that  the  latter  have  something  of  value  to  barter  or  offer  for 
sale. 

When  these  two  conditions  are  fulfilled  with  respect  to  the  vendor  and 
vendee,  the  next  essential  thing  is  that  a  basis  of  exchange  be  established 
and  recognized  as  a  guide  for  trading.  This  is  only  another  way  of 
expressing  the  matter  of  price.  Reduced  to  its  last  analysis,  a  price 
should  always  be  a  true  exponent  of  value.  It  is  unfortunate,  however, 
that  such  is  not  always  the  case,  for  it  often  occurs,  as  we  shall  see 
later  on,  that  prices  and  market  quotations  frequently  serve  rather  to 
conceal  than  to  reflect  actual  values  and  market  conditions. 

Of  course,  the  prices  asked  and  given  in  handling  different  articles 
of  fruits  and  produce,  or  any  other  article  for  that  matter,  may  be  in- 
fluenced by  different  causes  that  are  so  numerous  and  varied  as  almost 
to  defy  classification  and  description. 

Whatever  else  may  be  said  about  prices,  it  is  clear  that  they  serve  as 
a  kind  of  barometer  for  business,  and  must  be  accepted  as  a  criterion 
for  good  or  bad  trading  and  serve  to  stimulate  business  or  make  trading 
slow  up.  We  shall  observe  later  that  some  of  the  different  elements  which 
have  an  important  bearing  on  the  matter  of  prices  are  not  always  to  be 
found  on  the  surface,  but  have  to  be  looked  for  with  the  eye  of  an  analyst, 
and  that  certain  factors  have  to  be  subdivided  if  we  are  to  really  under- 
stand thoroughly  the  proposition  we  are  dealing  with.  It  would  be  im- 
possible in  this  connection  to  go  into  a  full  discussion  or  even  to  enu- 
merate anything  like  all  of  the  factors  that  must  be  considered.  They  can 
be  better  taken  up  in  other  chapters  for  thorough  discussion. 

It  has  been  very  truthfully  as  well  as  tersely  stated  that  a  thing  is 

20 


THE  MAKING  AND  BREAKING  OF  MARKETS  21 

worth  what  it  will  fetch.  But  the  ruling  price  of  a  given  commodity 
may  not  represent  the  actual  inherent  value  of  the  article  unless  we 
confine  all  discussion  of  values  strictly  to  the  present  tense.  In  view 
of  the  fact  that  nearly  all  commodities  embraced  in  the  produce  business 
are  of  a  more  or  less  perishable  nature,  and  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
business  is  highly  speculative  within  itself,  it  is  quite  evident  that  prices 
fluctuate  to  keep  track  of  values  which  are  ever-changing  and  which  con- 
stitute a  study  in  themselves  that  may  well  engage  the  most  astute  reason- 
ing that  can  be  applied  to  economics  and  trade. 

Prices  that  are  being  asked  and  given  today  for  any  produce  commodity 
may  or  may  not  represent  the  actual  value  of  the  commodity  in  question, 
as  we  shall  see  later.  But  values  and  prices  of  different  articles  have 
been  frequently  confused  to  the  undoing  of  not  a  few,  as  I  hope  to  em- 
phasize in  this  and  other  chapters  treating  on  the  handling  of  fruits  and 
produce. 

Indeed,  it  is  no  easy  matter  always  to  say  whether  or  not  ruling  prices 
exceed  actual  values  or  vice  versa,  for  what  may  be  true  of  a  staple  article 
like  apples  during  the  present  season,  may  be,  and  almost  to  a  certainty, 
will  be  very  different  from  the  conditions  that  will  prevail  and  govern 
next  year,  the  year  after  and  ever  after.  Perhaps  this  one  feature  of 
constant  change  is  an  essential  factor  in  making  the  produce  business 
such  a  luring  game.  The  true  perspective  is  nearly  always  difficult  to 
draw,  and  like  a  kaleidoscope,  is  constantly  changing  and  different  at 
every  turn,  the  last  always  appearing  to  be  the  most  brilliant  in  color 
and  the  most  beautiful  in  design,  especially  when  things  are  running 
smoothly  and  nice  profits  are  forthcoming. 

After  all,  the  ruling  price  for  a  given  commodity  only  means  that 
traders,  investors,  speculators  or  any  other  name  you  may  please  to  call 
purchasers  who  buy  for  immediate  or  future  use,  have  put  their  seal  of 
approval  on  the  opinion  that  a  given  commodity  selling  at  a  given  price 
is  worth  the  value  indicated  by  that  price. 

As  a  general  rule  good  prices  mean  good  business  in  any  market  for 
any  commodity,  but  there  is  such  a  thing  as  getting  prices  too  high  so  that 
speculative  buying  runs  riot  and  intrinsic  values  are  forgotten  or  etse 
submerged  for  the  time  being,  and  a  period  of  retrenchment  or  reaction 
may  be  expected  to  follow  an  erratic  spell  when  prices  and  values  have 
been  estranged  temporarily. 

Of  course,  the  prices  asked  and  given  in  handling  different  articles  of 
fruits  and  produce  or  any  other  article  may  be  influenced  in  an  upward  or 
downward  way  by  different  causes,  all  of  which  would  be  really  hard  to 
single  out  and  give  their  proper  value  in  making  up  the  market. 


22  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

The  simple  question:  "Why  do  prices  change?"  opens  up  an  unlimited 
field  for  discussion,  but  those  accustomed  to  taking  a  superficial  view  of 
matters  appear  to  be  quite  satisfied  to  attribute  the  condition  of  any  mar- 
ket to  supply  and  demand  as  the  two  ruling  factors,  and  apparently  never 
care  to  trouble  themselves  with  analyzing  these  two  factors  to  see  what 
influences  are  responsible  for  their  existence,  and  which  perhaps  in- 
directly results  in  the  favorable  or  unfavorable  trend  of  the  market  from 
time  to  time. 

It  is  readily  conceded  that  supply  and  demand  are  constantly  dictating 
the  fixing  of  prices,  but  this  axiom  about  supply  and  demand  ruling  prices 
only  states  half  the  truth,  and  he  is  short-sighted  indeed  who  is  unable 
to  see  that  supply  and  demand  are  themselves  capable  of  almost  infinite 
analysis  and  subdivision. 

It  frequently  happens  that  a  minor  member  of  either  leading  factor 
which  is  grouped  for  convenience  under  supply  or  demand,  looms  up  as 
a  great  influence  in  making  prices  go  up  or  down,  and  although  the  over 
or  under-supply,  or  the  demand  or  lack  of  it,  may  be  designated  for 
convenience  as  the  real  cause  for  the  upward  or  downward  tendency  in 
prices,  still  the  close  observer  is  bound  to  see  that  something  over  and 
above  the  sheer  supply  and  demand  themselves  is  in  operation  with  telling 
force.  To  say  the  least,  a  careful  reasoner  on  market  matters  should  look 
beneath  the  surface  of  these  two  factors  if  he  cares  to  get  a  proper  grasp 
of  market  conditions  and  profit  in  the  future  from  past  experience,  pre- 
venting the  repetition  of  mistakes  which  probably  could  have  been  avoided 
if  he  had  devoted  a  little  more  gray  matter  to  the  business  he  has  in  hand. 

Too  often  the  weather  is  overlooked  as  a  potent  and  far-reaching  influ- 
ence in  making  and  breaking  the  markets  for  different  produce  commodi- 
ties. Those  of  long  experience  know  that  certain  articles  are  sometimes  in 
slow  demand,  and  that  it  is  difficult  to  assign  a  cause  for  this  sluggish  con- 
dition until  the  weather  is  taken  into  account. 

Not  only  does  prevailing  weather  for  the  time  being  affect  the  con- 
sumptive requirements  for  different  kinds  of  produce  through  its  indirect 
influence  on  the  consuming  public  at  the  time  a  given  article  is  being 
placed  on  the  market,  but  it  should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  weather 
conditions  have  a  very  far-reaching  effect  in  the  producing  of  good  or 
bad  quality  in  different  kinds  of  produce  that  are  to  be  placed  on  the 
market  at  some  later  date,  and  which  produce  may  meet  with  poor  sale 
during  good  weather  for  selling,  owing  to  inferior  quality  coming  as  a 
direct  result  from  unfavorable  weather  conditions  when  the  commodity 
in  question  was  being  grown  or  prepared  for  market. 

I  think  it  cannot  be  disproved  that  the  weather  is  the  most  important 


THE  MAKING  AND  BREAKING  OF  MARKETS  23 

influence  affecting  or  relating  to  supply  and  demand,  for  it  may  influence 
either  or  both,  directly  or  indirectly. 

It  frequently  occurs  that  in  the  face  of  a  heavy  supply  of  a  given  com- 
modity the  market  maintains  an  activity  and  a  firmness  which  can  hardly 
be  accounted  for.  Naturally,  there  must  be  some  buying  demand,  or  spec- 
ulative demand  if  you  please,  else  the  market  would  collapse.  A  good 
many  people  in  the  trade  simply  characterize  the  situation  by  saying  there 
is  a  good  demand,  and  lose  sight  of  the  unique  situation,  in  that  supplies 
are  heavy  with  prices  ruling  higher  than  they  would  ordinarily  under 
normal  conditions,  and  never  so  much  as  stop  to  inquire  why  the  demand 
is  in  the  market  when  one  would  naturally  expect,  under  such  conditions, 
a  slower  selling  at  lower  prices. 

After  all,  there  is  a  very  unique  relation  which  supplies  and  values 
should  sustain  to  each  other  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  hand,  de- 
mand and  prices  are  found  to  be  similarly  related. 

Forsooth,  the  matter  of  supply  determines  the  value.  It  might  be  stated 
with  equal  truth  that  demand  fixes  the  price. 

We  could  with  mathematical  accuracy  write  the  formula  out  by  propor- 
tion that  would  run  something  like  this :  As  the  supply  is  to  the  value,  so 
is  the  demand  to  the  price.  The  last  member  of  the  equation  is  always 
comparatively  easy  to  get  at;  the  first  member  is  difficult  to  establish  be- 
cause it  is  an  unknown  variable  in  most  cases.  Largely,  it  is  a  case  of 
adapting  the  mental  to  the  material. 

I  think  it  cannot  be  successfully  contradicted  that  values  are  deter- 
mined by  supply  whether  we  realize  it  or  not,  but  we  certainly  do  realize 
that  the  demand  fixes  the  price.  Values  are  real,  prices  may  be  fictitious ; 
a  supply  is  a  fact,  a  demand  may  be  a  fancy,  as  many  of  the  speculators 
in  produce  commodities  could  bear  witness. 

We  are  bound  to  agree  that  the  supply  of  any  produce  commodity  may 
be  affected  in  a  score  of  different  ways,  and  it  would  hardly  be  an  exag- 
geration to  make  the  same  statement  with  regard  to  the  demand,  for  as 
we  have  seen,  they  are  capable  of  subdivision,  and  must  be  subdivided  if 
they  are  to  be  intelligently  studied  or  correctly  understood.  I  am  frank 
to  confess  that  I  believe  the  coming  generation  will  be  able  to  calculate 
more  nicely  the  nature  and  scope  of  the  various  subdivisions  of  these  two 
factors,  and  I  fancy  some  startling  discoveries  may  be  brought  to  light 
sooner  or  later. 

The  purchasing  power  of  the  consuming  public  is  easily  one  of  the 
most  important  things  to  be  considered  in  summing  up  the  question  of  de- 
mand, but  now  and  then  a  whim  on  the  part  of  the  general  public  is 
exhibited  for  or  against  a  certain  commodity,  and  the  author  believes  the 


24  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

causes  of  these  whims  can  better  be  traced  in  the  field  of  psychology,  al- 
though he  thinks  it  proper  to  call  attention  to  them  in  this  connection,  for 
they  are  known  to  be  in  constant  operation. 

Why  the  consuming  public  will  take  considerably  more  of  a  given  com- 
modity, for  example  apples  or  eggs,  even  at  a  higher  price  under  certain 
conditions  than  under  other  similar  conditions  at  another  time,  is  a  prob- 
lem that  some  psychologist  of  the  future  generation  may  be  able  to  trace 
out  and  solve  more  correctly  when  complete  scientific  investigation  relating 
to  sentiment  as  applied  to  people  in  the  aggregate  has  been  made,  and  it 
is  established  that  these  whims  are  not  due  to  haphazard  or  caprice,  but 
are  traceable  to  certain  fixed  laws  which  are  now  unknown  except  in  their 
effects. 

And  I  fancy  somebody  will  raise  the  point  that  all  of  this  is  far-fetched 
and  visionary.  It  is.  But  what  is  a  market  but  a  matter  of  opinion  ?  It 
is  mental,  not  material.  Markets  simply  change  because  men's  minds  do. 
If  all  conclusions  and  opinions  were  correct  we  might  as  well  expect 
stationary  prices  except  where  there  would  be  a  surplus  or  a  scarcity  of 
a  given  commodity  that  might  result  in  higher  or  lower  prices  temporarily. 

But  it  is  perhaps  fortunate  for  the  rank  and  file  of  mankind  that  every- 
body does  not  reason  correctly  and  that  wrong  opinions,  which  result  in 
the  undoing  of  some  folks,  give  somebody  else  who  possesses  the  knack  of 
reasoning  more  closely,  the  opportunity  to  make  a  profit  from  the  mistakes 
of  their  less  fortunate  fellow  creatures.  Mind  you,  I  have  not  said  that 
this  is  right  or  is  like  things  ought  to  be.  But  I  am  not  responsible  for  the 
conditions ;  I  simply  call  attention  to  their  existence  and  some  of  the  pos- 
sibilities they  open  up. 

When  everybody  in  the  produce  business  possesses  a  reasonable  share 
of  that  most  uncommon  kind  of  sense — common  sense — there  will  be  less 
violent  fluctuations  in  the  market,  for  there  will  be  fewer  speculators. 

When  the  trade  at  large  pays  at  least  some  attention  to  the  elementary 
principles  of  psychology  a  lot  of  things  which  are  now  shrouded  in 
mystery  will  become  more  or  less  simple,  and  will  therefore  be  the  more 
easily  controlled.  To  better  illustrate  the  thought  in  mind  we  might  refer 
to  electricity,  that  subtle  force  which  always  existed  everywhere  and 
which  nobody  doubted.  Yet  its  potentiality  and  practical  uses  were  un- 
known until  the  principles  which  underlie  its  generation  and  control  had 
been  mastered  and  harnessed.  The  same  old  force  which  broke  out  occa- 
sionally and  flashed  through  the  sky  for  ages  and  ages  has  been  bridled 
and  shackled,  and  it  does  our  bidding  in  supplying  our  needs  and  meeting 
our  wishes  in  a  thousand  different  ways.  We  have  come  to  master  it  by 
discovering  its  inner  nature.  Some  will  probably  fail  to  grasp  the  thought 


IB 


H    O 

03 


>    O 

2!   w 


p  g 

B   » 
>   W 

?  3 


H  H 

M  SS 

tfl  O 

>  o 


THE  MAKING  AND  BREAKING  OF  MARKETS  25 

in  the  author's  mind,  but  he  has  no  doubt  the  great  majority  of  readers 
will  see  the  point,  and  he  hopes  there  will  be  some  profit  from  the  illus- 
tration so  far  as  mastering  markets  go. 

What  is  needed  among  produce  people  is  a  more  intelligent  study  of 
the  science  of  marketing.  And  this  study  is  bound  to  lead  to  an  analysis 
of  the  relation  between  supplies  and  values,  as  compared  with  the  con- 
nection between  demand  and  prices.  In  all  the  making  and  breaking  of 
markets  there  are  fixed  laws  in  operation,  and  the  more  closely  these  laws 
are  studied  and  complied  with  the  better  for  all  concerned,  especially  for 
the  speculators  who  have  paid  to  fix  prices  or  force  markets  on  some 
occasions  when  they  later  find  they  have  strained  the  relations  between 
prices  and  values,  between  the  supply  and  the  demand,  to  the  breaking 
point. 

The  subject  of  speculation  is  too  important  and  far-reaching  to  receive 
proper  treatment  in  this  connection,  and  I  deem  it  necessary  to  take  up 
the  subject  in  a  later  chapter  so  as  to  draw  a  distinction  between  specula- 
tion and  legitimate  business,  and  set  down  some  other  observations  which 
may  not  come  amiss.  Yet  it  may  be  stated  here  that  speculation  is  merely 
an  effort  to  anticipate  the  meeting  of  prices  and  values. 

Going  back  a  little  way  to  the  subject  of  actual  trading  and  actual  mar- 
kets, we  must  agree  that  the  inspiration  of  all  trading  lies  in  the  matter 
of  making  a  profit. 

The  prime  motive  which  governs  the  commission  merchant  or  the  prod- 
uce dealer  in  the  conduct  of  his  business  is  that  of  gain.  The  same  ap- 
plies, of  course,  to  the  producer,  grower  and  shipper.  In  short,  the  whole 
scheme  of  business  depends  on  the  question  of  dollars  and  cents,  and  it  is 
a  matter  of  fact  that  unless  a  fair  profit  is  realized  on  the  capital  and  labor 
invested,  business  itself  must  be  discontinued. 

Therefore,  the  produce  buyer  whether  at  wholesale  or  at  retail,  pur- 
chases wholly  from  the  standpoint  of  an  investment,  and  the  seller  parts 
company  with  his  goods  in  view  of  a  profit.  However,  it  must  be  admitted 
that  sales  of  various  fruits  and  produce  are  sometimes  made  to  prevent 
losses  rather  than  with  a  profit  in  view.  But  this  last  named  species  of 
sale  can  hardly  be  listed  with  the  usual  run  of  transactions,  for  they  are 
nothing  more  or  less  than  sacrifices,  although  they  may  be  prompted  by 
good  judgment  to  protect  money  invested.  Frequently  a  line  of  goods  is 
moved  either  in  a  primary  or  distributing  center  on  a  close  margin  because 
their  owner,  or  agent  having  charge  of  their  sale,  may  believe  he  is  as- 
suming considerable  risk  in  holding  a  perishable  commodity  for  later  sale, 
fearing  a  possible  deterioration  in  quality  or  a  threatened  decline  in  the 
market. 


26  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

But  as  a  usual  thing  there  are  really  few  bargains  in  the  produce  busi- 
ness as  the  word  is  generally  understood.  By  this  I  mean  downright,  will- 
ful sacrifices  of  values.  In  other  words,  most  people  engaged  in  every 
branch  of  trade  understand  that  business  is  business,  which,  being  trans- 
lated into  everyday  English,  means  no  one  is  trading  for  his  health  alone, 
and  there  is  no  excuse  or  apology  necessary  for  this  apparently  "sordid 
view  of  matters,  as  it  is  the  profit — the  dollar — that  animates  and  moves 
the  grower,  shipper,  buyer  and  seller  under  nearly  all  conditions,  and  en- 
ables them  all  to  survive  and  continue  the  scheme  of  growing,  shipping 
and  selling.  To  do  business  that  involves  swapping  dollars  surely  is  scant 
encouragement,  and  worse  still  is  the  taking  of  losses  which  result  too 
frequently,  and  which  are  nearly  always  induced  by  speculators  who  have 
failed  or  refused  to  learn  that 'prices  and  values  are  by  no  means  identical, 
and  that  the  prevailing  demand  and  apparent  supply  should  not  always 
dictate  the  plan  of  action  they  should  follow. 

In  the  matter  of  buying  and  selling,  we  might  say  that  the  best  time  to 
buy  is  when  others  want  to  sell,  and  vice  versa.  Unfortunately,  this  rule 
cannot  be  followed  blindly,  but  as  a  general  proposition  its  correctness  will 
stand  the  test  of  time. 

Relatively  speaking,  there  are  cycles  or  periods  of  time  in  which  certain 
articles  in  the  produce  field  have  to  be  bought  and  sold  if  a  profit  is  to  be 
expected.  But  now  and  then  it  happens  that  a  nervy  trader  will  prolong 
his  operations  and  hit  things  right  for  a  big  killing  after  the  statute  of 
limitations  has  expired  in  a  given  commodity  for  a  given  season.  But 
these  occurrences  are  chiefly  notable  for  their  infrequency,  and  are,  there- 
fore, bad  business  because  of  their  uncertainty.  Speculators  have  been 
fooled  time  and  again  by  drifting  with  the  current,  or  possibly  depending 
on  the  steam  rising  from  their  heated  imaginations  for  ability  to  travel 
in  whatever  direction  they  hoped  the  market  would  go.  We  shall  go  into 
this  further  when  we  come  to  consider  speculation  per  se. 

While  we  are  discussing  the  matter  of  markets  we  might  profitably  in- 
quire into  the  nature  and  character  of  some  of  the  markets,  or  market 
places,  involved  in  the  concentration  and  the  distribution  of  the  thousand 
and  one  kinds  of  fruits  and  produce,  for  there  are  possibly  a  few  details 
and  points  that  may  be  worth  while  to  set  down  in  this  connection. 

All  markets  may  be  divided  into  two  classes. 

The  first  may  be  considered  as  a  primary  or  initial  market  where  goods 
originate  in  commercial  quanUties,  and  this  class  includes  such  places  as 
loading  stations,  creameries,  packing  plants,  orchards,  etc.  In  other 
words,  wherever  produce,  of  whatever  kind,  may  be  grown,  produced, 
packed  or  shipped. 


THE  MAKING  AND  BREAKING  OF  MARKETS  27 

The  second  kind  may  be  designated  as  secondary  or  distributing  cen- 
ters,, and  are  usually  understood  to  be  such  markets  as  handle  wholesale 
lots  of  various  kinds  of  produce,  either  for  immediate  or  future  distribu- 
tion for  consumptive  requirements. 

All  markets  have  feelings  or  tones,  which  are  said  to  be  firm,  steady, 
easy  or  weak,  according  to  the  sentiment  among  buyers  and  sellers  as 
varying  circumstances  may  dictate. 

A  firm  or  strong  market  is  understood  to  mean  one  where  holders  of 
goods  are  firm  in  their  ideas  about  prices  relating  to  a  given  commodity, 
and  under  a  firm  feeling  the  price  is  not  subject  to  a  decline,  but  rather 
tends  upward. 

A  steady  market  is  a  shade  weaker  than  the  one  just  referred  to,  but 
the  steady  feeling  also  indicates  a  very  healthy  condition  in  business. 

An  easy  market  means  buyers  have  little  trouble  in  finding  sellers  of  a 
given  commodity  at  established  quotations,  and  usually  indicates  that 
prices  may  be  shaded  to  make  sales. 

A  weak  market  means  that  a  decline  in  price  is  likely,  and  the  feeling 
is  generally  weak  as  to  maintaining  established  quotations  relating  to  some 
particular  commodity.  To  quote  a  market  as  being  weak  is  only  another 
way  of  predicting  a  decline  unless  some  unexpected  change  develops. 

A  dull  market  usually  means  about  the  same  as  an  easy  or  weak  situa- 
tion, but  without  a  pronounced  weak  feeling. 

A  market  that  has  been  forced  is  one  that  is  usually  the  outgrowth  of 
an  abnormal  demand  which  usually  results  from  those  who  are  in  posses- 
sion of  a  sufficient  volume  of  supplies,  going  to  the  extreme  of  forcing 
buyers  to  pay  more  than  the  actual  values  would  dictate  under  normal 
conditions. 

All  markets  are  subject  largely  to  the  same  influences  in  their  making 
or  unmaking,  although  local  conditions  may  affect  different  markets  in  a 
varying  degree.  But  as  a  general  proposition  the  larger  market  centers 
exert  far  more  influence  on  sentiment  and  prices  than  the  primary  mar- 
kets, yet  the  larger  market  centers  are  often  subject  to  fluctuations  that 
sometimes  fail  to  reach  the  primary  markets  with  their  influence  in  this 
respect. 

But  as  a  usual  thing  what  hurts  or  helps  one  market  extends  to  others 
that  handle  the  same  commodity,  for  the  present  network  of  transporta- 
tion lines  and  the  different  media  for  exchange  of  information  have  ac- 
tually converted  the  entire  country  into  one  big  market,  and  sales  are 
taking  place  every  hour  in  the  day  involving  carlots,  sometimes  trainloads, 
of  different  fruits  and  produce  in  transit  all  over  the' continent. 

Now,  after  considering  the  matter  of  markets  from  several  angles  in 


28  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING ' 

the  brief  survey  of  the  subject  as  we  necessarily  have  taken,  the  author 
believes  that  the  most  important  thing  yet  remains  to  be  said  regarding 
sentiment  as  a  controlling  factor  in  the  making  and  unmaking  of  markets, 
and  I  hardly  feel  that  the  subject,  could  be  dropped  without  some  refer- 
ence to  this  essential  element  as  a  factor  in  shaping  trade  conditions. 

Sentiment  is  purely  mental,  not  material,  and  those  who  have  not  made 
a  careful  study  of  the  subject  can  hardly  understand  or  appreciate  the 
effect  of  this  subtle  element,  not  only  in  produce  matters,  but  in  commerce 
generally.  And  I  may  say  that  in  many  cases  it  applies  much  more 
strongly  to  the  produce  business  than  to  some  other  lines  of  trade,  because 
of  the  fact  that  the  produce  business  is  highly  speculative,  especially  for 
different  commodities  at  different  seasons,  and  under  varied  conditions  as 
they  must  necessarily  exist. 

Sentiment  is  ever  present  in  all  markets  and  it  exerts  an  influence  on  the 
price  of  every  commodity,  although  that  influence  may  be  more  or  less 
pronounced  in  different  circumstances. 

Sentiment  may  be  considered  as  a  slender  silken  thread  by  which  a 
commodity  may  be  raised  higher  and  higher  if  the  tension  is  not  too  strong 
on  the  delicate  fiber ;  but  when  overloaded  snaps  suddenly,  sets  the  law  of 
gravity  in  rapid  operation  and  sends  things  to  the  bottom  with  a  crash. 
You  can  doubt  the  presence  of  sentiment  if  you  wish;  you  can  deny  its 
influence  if  you  prefer ;  but  it  can  never  be  discounted,  and  the  wise  trader 
in  the  produce  business  knows  he  must  regard  sentiment  literally  as  the 
North  Star  of  commerce. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  a  criticism  on  one's  intelligence  to  run  counter 
to  sentiment  too  far  or  too  strong,  although  it  sometimes  happens  that  the 
entire  produce  trade  is  wrong  in  its  conclusions  about  the  intrinsic  values 
of  certain  commodities,  and  about  other  matters,  the  same  as  the  great 
public  at  large  is  wrong  now  and  then  regarding  politics,  theology,  law 
and  various  other  propositions. 

But  I  insist  that  as  a  general  rule  sentiment  must  be  heeded,  for  he  is 
playing  with  live  coals  and  gun-powder  wrho  is  so  bold  as  not  to  recognize 
and  respect  sentiment  because  of  its  powerful  influence  on  business.  It  is 
far  from  my  purpose  to  make  a  fetich  of  sentiment,  for  it  is  clearly  the 
creature  and  not  the  creator.  Sentiment  is  great,  but  the  man  who  makes 
it  is  greater.  A  single  individual  can  and  often  does  create  sentiment  or 
change  it  on  occasions  when  it  is  wrong,  sometimes  even  when  it  is  right. 
But  once  sentiment  is  founded  on  fact,  becomes  congealed  and  is  well  es- 
tablished, its  effect  on  prices,  making  for  riches  or  ruin,  can  rarely  be 
doubted  or  discarded,  and  it  is  of  this  truthful  sentiment  to  which  I  have 
special  reference  when  I  speak  of  its  potentiality. 


THE  MAKING  AND  BREAKING  OF  MARKETS.  29 

But  even  if  sentiment  is  false  and  at  the  same  time  widespread,  it  may 
be  as  much  as  one's  fortune  is  worth  to  try  to  stem  it,  as  it  is  well  nigh 
a  fact,  though  founded  on  false  premises,  if  everyone  believes  or  feels  a 
certain  way  with  reference  to  a  given  commodity,  and  that  feeling  runs 
counter  to  a  guess  upon  which  to  hazard  a  good  sum  of  money  in  specula- 
tion, especially  if  the  season  is  drawing  near  a  close  when  the  commodity 
in  which  money  is  invested  must  be  sold  in  order  to  prevent  a  loss, 


CHAPTER    IV 

SPECULATION 

It  is  a  fact  generally  recognized,  I  believe,,  that  the  entire  produce  busi- 
ness from  start  to  finish  is  more  or  less  speculative,  and  therefore,  more 
or  less  a  gamble. 

But  the  term  speculation  as  applied  to  the  stock  exchange  or  the  grain 
pit  is  not  identical  with  the  game  of  chance  we  find  in  growing,  packing, 
shipping  or  dealing  in  produce,  yet  it  is  the  element  of  chance  that  enters 
into  both  which  makes  the  respective  lines  hazardous  to  a  degree. 

Doubtless  the  main  cause  of  the  speculative  nature  of  the  produce  busi- 
ness is  to  be  found  in  the  highly  perishable  nature  of  the  many  commodi- 
ties classed  as  fruits  and  produce. 

But  aside  from  this  the  element  of  probability  extends  even  to  the  grow- 
ing and  producing  of  all  kinds  of  produce  commodities.  There  are  so 
many  different  factors  to  be  reckoned  with  all  along  the  line  in  every 
branch  that  it  can  almost  be  stated  without  fear  of  successful  contradiction 
that  nothing  is  sure  in  this  business  until  it  has  happened,  and  you  are 
sure  that  it  has  happened. 

Therefore,  it  is  not  strange,  but  on  the  contrary  very  natural,  that  there 
will  be  speculation  where  the  field  is  so  inviting,  for  man  by  natural  in- 
stinct is  somewhat  a  gambler.  I  shall  be  fair  enough,  however,  to  spare 
the  feelings  of  those  who  may  take  issue  on  this  score,  for  I  know  a  great 
many  men  in  the  trade  studiously  avoid  a  game  of  chance;  yet  I  submit 
that  every  time  they  stake  a  sum  of  money  on  a  car  of  apples  or  a  lot  of 
eggs,  or  on  a  growing  crop,  they  are  only  putting  up  so  much  money 
against  a  higher  card,  as  it  were,  and  their  number  is  legion  who  have 
patiently  watched  the  deal  and  have  seen  their  profits  and  often  their 
stakes  swept  away  by  a  cruel  ace,  and  now  and  then  just  a  plain  deuce 
is  all  that  is  required  to  make  one  lose  his  money — sometimes  his  religion 
too. 

It  is  quite  true  the  element  of  probability  is  not  encouraged  by  the  trade 

30 


SPECULATION  31 

at  large  for  the  sheer  fun  of  gambling,,  but  it  is  inherent  in  the  very  nature 
of  the  business  that  there  must  be  downs  as  well  as  ups, — losses  as  well 
as  profits. 

A  freeze  over  night  may  change  the  scheme  of  business  in  a  hundred 
markets  and  may  affect  prices  or  values,  maybe  both,  for  a  score  of  differ- 
ent articles,  maybe  for  a  day,  maybe  for  a  season.  A  heavy  rain  or  storm 
may  ruin  the  combined  results  of  capital  and  labor  expended  with  great 
skill  in  a  promising  produce  investment. 

We  have  already  noted  the  far-reaching  effects  of  the  weather  on  mar- 
kets, and  it  cannot  be  emphasized  too  strongly  that  the  weather  is  the 
greatest  single  factor  that  is  in  constant  operation  directly  or  indirectly 
in  making  or  losing  fortunes  in  produce.  To  make  myself  clear  I  should 
say  the  uncertainties  of  the  weather  induce  speculation. 

But  it  is  an  ill  wind  that  blows  good  to  nobody.  What  is  the  loss  of  one 
is  often  the  gain  of  another.  Severe  injury  to  the  Florida  orange  crop 
only  means  that  there  will  be  a  heavier  demand  for  oranges  from  Califor- 
nia or  from  some  place  else,  provided  they  can  be  had.  Injury  to  the 
poultry  crop  in  Iowa  is  a  forerunner  of  better  prices  for  poultry  from 
Missouri,  Kansas  and  elsewhere. 

These  circumstances,  which  might  be  cited  and  varied  indefinitely,  only 
serve  to  emphasize  the  original  proposition  that  the  produce  business  is 
more  or  less  of  a  gamble.  About  the  only  advantage  that  poker  or  faro 
can  claim  over  the  produce  business  is  that  the  latter  is  usually  more  long 
drawn  out  and  more  nerve  racking  and  torturing  when  it  goes  wrong. 
But  when  it  goes  right  and  you  make  a  "ten  strike,"  sometimes  you  can 
hardly  be  resuscitated  from  a  sinking  spell  due  to  suspense  so  as  to  hear 
the  glad  news. 

However,  there  is  one  sweet  consolation  from  a  comparison  of  an  out 
and  out  gamble  and  the  quasi-gamble  in  the  produce  business,  and  that 
is  the  "sure  thing"  of  the  con  man  will  break  you  to  a  certainty  if  you 
go  against  it  long  enough  and  strong  enough,  but  in  the  produce  business 
some  men  win  although  they  follow  the  business  purely  in  a  speculative 
way,  and  there  are  not  a  few  who  reduce  the  element  of  chance  to  a  mini- 
mum and  make  startling  successes  in  one  line  or  another. 

In  this  connection,  I  think  it  worth  while  to  set  at  rest  some  impres- 
sions that  appear  to  have  gained  currency  to  the  effect  that  the  produce 
business  is  a  sort  of  gold  mine  or  an  adjunct  of  the  treasury  department 
at  Washington  because  of  its  opportunities  in  speculating.  We  fre- 
quently hear  of  a  bold  plunge  in  a  certain  commodity  which  results  in  fab- 
ulous profits,  and  the  lucky  individual  or  individuals  promoting  the  deal, 
are  showered  with  congratulations  for  their  nerve  and  foresight.  But  we 


32       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

rarely  see  anything  printed  or  hear  a  word  about  the  fellows  that  go 
against  the  game  and  lose. 

There  are  numerous  wrecks  lying  in  the  wake  of  this  alluring  business 
which  are  monuments  to  the  god  of  failure.  Indeed,  it  is  recounted  in  the 
annals  of  the  trade  that  in  times  gone  by  many  a  firm  have  set  their  barks 
adrift  at  the  firing  of  the  morning  gun,  with  sails  spread  high  and 
wide  over  as  well  manned  and  sea-worthy  argosies  as  ever  plied  the 
Cathay  coast  for  gold  and  indigo  in  the  classic  days  of  yore, — a  clear  sky 
above,  a  smooth  sea  ahead,  and  the  barks,  they  say,  proceeded  on  their 
way  for  a  time,  safe,  serene  and  rejoicing.  But  towards  high  noon  a  gath- 
ering storm  descended  and  the  tossing  ships  were  at  the  mercy  of  the 
waves;  before  an  hour  passed  they  were  driven  on  an  unchartered  rock, 
and  before  the  next  setting  sun  the  cargo  and  crew  were  dashed  to  pieces 
and  floated  hither  and  thither  by  the  surging  billows  and  howling  winds. 
When  drifting  spar  and  wreckage  washed  ashore  in  the  calm  that  fol- 
lowed the  storm,  the  world  paused  and  wondered  how  it  could  have  hap- 
pened so  suddenly,  so  sadly  and  with  so  little  warning!  And  still  these 
argosies  are  being  put  to  sea  nearly  every  day ! 

But  it  cannot  be  denied  that  reasonably  sure  returns  are  always  forth- 
coming from  the  conduct  of  a  legitimate  business  handling  fruits  and  prod- 
uce either  in  a  large  or  in  a  small  market  if  proper  limitations  are 
put  on  the  volume  of  business  to  be  handled  with  the  capital  invested,  and 
proper  allowances  are  made  for  the  personal  equation,  which  after  all,  is 
the  most  vital  influence  in  the  commercial  world,  as  in  every  other  line  of 
human  endeavor ;  and  other  things  being  equal,  the  right  man  in  charge  of 
a  business  is  more  essential  than  having  a  large  amount  of  money  in- 
vested. Maybe  I  am  wrong,  but  I  have  always  been  possessed  of  the  idea 
that  things  have  a  knack  at  shaping  themselves  for  the  convenience  and 
profit  of  some  men. 

I  know  it  is  a  current  opinion  in  some  quarters  that  as  a  general  rule 
no  great  amount  of  money  ever  has  been  or  ever  will  be  accumulated  by 
firms  or  individuals  engaged  in  the  produce  business,  but  I  think  it  only 
necessary  to  refer  en  masse  to  the  hundreds  of  leading  firms  over  the  coun- 
try who  have  built  lasting  monuments  to  themselves  in  the  successes  they 
have  achieved,  who  began  in  a  small  way  perhaps,  but  who,  through  sheer 
pluck  and  energy  coupled  with  an  honest  purpose,  have  forged  steadily 
to  the  front  and  have  not  only  made  money  for  themselves,  but  have  ren- 
dered a  real  service  to  their  countrymen  in  helping  to  find  markets  for 
numerous  products  that  would  certainly  have  gone  to  waste  year  after 
year  were  it  not  for  the  diligent  effort  on  their  part  in  finding  a  profitable 
outlet  for  the  surplus  products  of  farms,  orchards,  barnyards,  dairies, 


SPECULATION  33 

vineyards  and  other  sources  of  supply  that  dot  the  hillsides  and  checker 
the  landscapes  from  one  end  of  this  good  country  to  the  other,  and  in 
many  cases  risking  their  good  money  to  do  so. 

I  think  there  is  little  foundation  for  the  idea  that  money  cannot  be 
made  out  of  every  branch  of  the  fruit  and  produce  business  where  proper 
judgment  and  energy  are  used,  for  I  am  sure  there  are  too  many  prosper- 
ous and  successful  growers,  shippers  and  dealers  in  every  community  and 
every  market  center  to  allow  any  but  the  prejudiced  to  share  the  opinion 
that  a  reasonable  competence,  if  not  a  neat  fortune,  cannot  be  honestly  ac- 
cumulated if  a  proper  system  is  worked  out  and  followed,  and  correct 
methods  of  trading  are  adhered  to,  even  with  a  line  that  is  so  highly  specu- 
lative as  most  branches  of  the  produce  trade  become  at  some  stages  and  in 
some  seasons. 

Of  course,  I  might  cite  hundreds  of  examples  of  really  successful  peo- 
ple in  the  trade,  despite  its  speculative  tendencies,  but  I  think  it  unnec- 
essary to  single  them  out,  as  they  are  already  conspicuous  enough  before 
the  produce  public  to  support  the  argument  I  make,  viz.:  that  the  great 
produce  field  offers  as  many  if  not  more  opportunities  for  success  to  the 
individual  or  firm  with  a  small  capital  than  can  be  found  in  the  average 
commercial  line  today  where  it  frequently  requires  an  enormous  outlay  of 
money  and  infinite  pains  to  secure  a  comparatively  small  profit  on  a  sea- 
son's business. 

But  if  I  were  asked  to  point  out  the  most  dangerous  pitfall  for  produce 
people  I  would  unhesitatingly  say  that  the  fever  of  speculation  is  the 
cause  of  more  downfalls,  and  puts  more  people  in  hot  water  temporarily 
and  sometimes  indefinitely,  than  all  other  causes  combined.  Yet  specu- 
lation is  often  perfectly  legitimate  and  is  sometimes  necessary  if  a  cam- 
paign of  trading  is  to  be  successful.  The  main  trouble  with  this  element 
is  that  it  is  too  frequently  allowed  to  run  riot  and  entirely  supplant  candid 
judgment  in  deciding  what  is  best  to  do.  It  must  be  admitted  that  there 
is  difficulty  in  drawing  a  clear  idea  as  to  what  constitutes  business  and 
what  is  purely  speculation,  especially  when  we  are  considering  a  line  that 
is  so  largely  speculative  from  start  to  finish. 

But  he  that  is  so  foolish  as  to  tamper  with  the  speculative  microbe  too 
much  and  inoculates  his  system  thoroughly,  without  possessing  a  knack 
for  the  task,  is  sooner  or  later  blinded  and  burned  just  as  the  moth,  lured 
by  the  glare  of  the  candle,  is  coaxed  to  its  ruin.  But  not  all  speculation  is 
ruinous  as  we  have  observed,  nor  are  all  of  its  votaries  rewarded  with 
ignominious  failure. 

There  are  types  of  speculation  as  well  as  types  of  speculators. 

First,  everybody  may  be  considered  a  speculator  to  some  extent  when 


34       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

he  is  engaged  in  a  line  of  business  that  is  in  itself  more  or  less  a  game  of 
chance.  Then  there  is  the  intermittent  speculator  who  drops  in  and  out  as 
circumstances  and  his  judgment  may  dictate.  He  is  usually  calm  and 
calculating,  and  he  is  the  only  real  speculator  worth  considering.  He 
generally  wants  to  play  a  sure  thing  and  will  take  the  right  chance  ap- 
parently at  heavy  odds  against  him.  Like  all  gamblers,,  he  reduces  the 
element  of  chance  to  a  minimum,  and  when  he  sees  he  has  a  100  to  1  shot 
he  prefers  to  go  fishing,  or  spend  awhile  looking  over  the  beauties  of 
nature  and  let  his  money  rest.  In  other  words,  he  has  a  set  of  brains  and 
he  uses  his  thinking  apparatus  day  in  and  day  out.  He  knows  the  value 
of  correct  information  and  will  not  act  without  ascertaining  his  bearings ; 
he  is  willing  to  pay  for  a  "look-in,"  and  he  is  slow  to  hand  out  tips,  pre- 
ferring to  use  them  himself.  What  is  more  important  still,  the  real  specu- 
lator will  not  attempt  the  impossible.  When  he  finds  he  is  in  wrong  he 
gets  out  with  as  little  loss  or  damage  as  possible,  for  even  the  best  specu- 
lators get  fooled  now  and  then,  and  it  sometimes  happens  they  are  fooled 
the  worst  on  what  seems  a  sure  thing.  The  very  uncertainty  of  the  prod- 
uce business  might  be  termed  its  chief  characteristic. 

But  the  sensible,  thinking  speculator  in  produce  lines  who  leaves  no 
stone  unturned  to  know  every  phase  of  his  deal,  is  a  hard  man  to  beat  at 
his  own  game.  He  thinks  hard  before  he  acts,  and  if  he  sees  a  big  doubt 
he  is  slow  to  act  at  all. 

The  speculator  who  makes  most  trouble  for  himself  and  others  is  the 
malignant  type  that  may  be  classed  as  a  dyed-in-the-wool  gambler  who 
has  it  in  his  blood  and  in  his  bones  to  gamble,  and  who  will  lay  you  1  to  2 
that  the  sun  will  rise  in  the  west  tomorrow. 

I  regret  to  say  some  men  who  class  themselves  in  the  produce  trade  are 
often  guilty  of  entering  deals  about  as  impossible  as  the  "sun  rise"  bet. 
It  is  difficult  to  say  if  sheer  ignorance  or  a  chronic  gambling  spirit  is  most 
largely  responsible  for  the  hazardous  deals  we  occasionally  run  across  in 
the  business.  Certainly  it  is  a  lack  of  gray  matter  whichever  may  be  the 
cause. 

The  grower  or  shipper  that  hooks  up  with  a  broker  or  dealer  that  is 
notorious  for  questionable  operations  may  do  so  from  ignorance,  but  it 
can  hardly  be  denied  that  the  aforesaid  grower  or  shipper  is  gambling  that 
he  will  not  get  skinned.  It  is  very  easy  to  see  the  element  of  speculation 
could  be  lessened  in  such  cases  if  proper  efforts  were  made  to  find  out  the 
reliability  of  the  tricky  broker  or  dealer  before  putting  up  the  stake,  which 
is  more  or  less  a  contribution  to  the  general  educational  fund. 

Again,  the  tin  horn  produce  gambler  who  figures  he  and  his  clique  con- 
stitute a  controlling  interest  in  the  market,  and  who  sinks  all  the  money 


SPECULATION  35 

he  can  beg,  borrow  or  steal  in  a  deal  to  bolster  up  a  lost  cause,  abandoned 
by  all  sane  folks,  is  no  doubt  lured  by  the  goddess  of  chance  to  the  point 
where  his  judgment  is  inert  or  lost  entirely.  Surely,  it  requires  no  ex- 
tended argument  to  show  that  the  chronic  speculator,  acting  more  on  im- 
pulse than  reason,  is  a  dangerous  man  to  follow  and  a  real  nuisance  to  the 
entire  trade. 

It  is  true  that  a  good  size  volume  could  be  written  on  the  evils  and  the 
benefits  of  speculation  in  the  different  phases  of  the  produce  trade. 

Too  often  speculation  is  diametrically  opposed  to  legitimate  business. 
Again,  business  often  loses  its  charm  and  its  profits  if  all  speculation  is 
barred  out.  But  it  may  be  put  down  as  a  fact  that  speculation  usually 
looks  for  a  reward  without  giving  a  value  received  in  service.  In  other 
words,  it  is  a  device  to  obtain  easy  money.  It  seeks  to  take  advantage  of 
circumstances  or  conditions,  and  demands  a  fee  for  its  mastery  of  a  situa- 
tion which  it  is  supposed  to  have  anticipated. 

Contrasted  with  real  business,  speculation  exhibits  some  phenomenal 
traits.  Business  is  slow,  plodding,  aiming  at  an  aggregate  piled  up  from 
a  series  of  small  profits ;  speculation  is  lithe,  'agile,  and  is  constantly  try- 
ing for  a  bold  stroke  by  which  to  make  a  big  killing.  Business  aims  at  a 
touch  down  by  masses  on  tackle  and  center  rushes,  while  speculation  seeks 
to  make  gains  by  long  end  runs  and  is  fond  of  trying  to  kick  goals  from 
the  forty-yard  line.  Speculation  is  akin  to  poetry,  business  is  more  like 
prose;  the  former  is  spring  time,  the  latter  is  autumn.  The  one  is  the 
rainbow,  the  other  the  shower.  And  so  they  stalk  hand  in  hand, — the  twin 
brothers  of  destiny  in  all  the  affairs  in  the  produce  realm. 

Perhaps  all  speculation  is  legitimate  when  the  element  of  chance  has 
been  reduced  to  a  minimum.  But  who  can  say  when  speculation  ceases 
to  be  more  than  a  doubt  ?  No  one  can  be  absolutely  sure  until  the  time  is 
up.  What  generally  would  be  called  a  speculative  deal  may  be  in  fact 
only  an  investment  with  an  almost  assured  handsome  profit  within  a  rea- 
sonable time.  There  are  occasions  when  celery,  apples,  butter  or  poultry 
are  preferable  as  an  investment  to  U.  S.  government  bonds  so  far  as 
profits  are  concerned. 

Largely  the  wisdom  or  folly  of  speculation  lies  in  being  reasonably 
sure  of  the  ground  before  you.  To  the  extent  that  human  judgment  and 
foresight  have  their  limitations,  just  to  that  extent  has  speculation  its 
short  comings.  Speculation  can  never  be  perfect  for  it  must  always  rest 
on  more  or  less  imperfect  and  doubtful  data. 

But  some  men  are  gifted  with  better  reason  and  a  more  penetrating  eye 
into  conditions  than  others  and  they  are,  therefore,  'better  speculators. 
But  be  it  said  to  the  credit  of  the  wiser  heads  in  the  produce  game, 


36        PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

they  generally  prefer  to  fight  shy  of  speculating  except  as  they  are  forced 
into  it  by  the  arbitrary  standards,  customs  and  seasons  that  must  be  met 
and  reckoned  with. 

And  so  the  secret  of  success  in  speculating  in  the  produce  market  de- 
pends on  intelligence.  In  other  words,  success  is  the  premium  put  on  cor- 
rect information  and  expert  knowledge.  This  appears  to  be  in  line  with 
the  general  order  of  affairs  throughout  the  universe,  and  there  is  no  man 
or  set  of  men  who  can  cut  intelligence  out  of  its  ultimate  reward. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  disprove  that  the  man  who  gives  up  his  time  to 
the  study  of  some  particular  commodity,  and  who  accumulates  valuable 
data  and  information  relating  to  the  production  and  distribution  of  certain 
kinds  of  produce,  and  who  afterwards  stakes  his  money  on  a  risk  should 
not  be  entitled  to  whatever  remuneration  he  can  get. 

I  am  afraid  there  are  some  who  make  faces  at  speculators  because  of 
their  superior  wits.  To  make  a  long  story  short  the  successful  speculator 
is  thoroughly  abreast  of  the  times.  It  takes  the  best  set  of  brains  to  make 
good  at  his  game,  and  there  must  be  no  mental  kinks  in  his  plans  and  no 
corrosion  allowed  in  his  thinking  machine. 

The  question  has  been  asked  again  and  again  if  speculators  are  not 
merely  the  camp  followers  of  the  great  produce  army.  Some  are  so  rash 
as  to  claim  that  speculators  are  barnacles  instead  of  benefactors.  'It 
must  be  admitted  that  sometimes  a  speculator  is  gambling  on  money  be- 
longing to  someone  else.  Many  brokers  throughout  the  country  are  fond 
of  this  very  pastime.  Orders  are  often  booked  for  car  lot  shipments  when 
the  broker  has  no  instructions  to  buy  or  sell.  It  easily  can  be  seen  the 
broker  figures  that  prices  will  go  higher  or  lower,  and  he  can  settle  at 
a  profit  instead  of  taking  his  brokerage  and  handing  over  the  purchase  to 
his  fictitious  client,  or  vice  versa. 

But  if  the  market  should  go  up  or  down  in  the  wrong  way,  or  if  his 
client,  unaware  that  the  broker  has  placed  an  order  for  him,  lays  in  a 
stock  of  the  same  goods  from  some  other  source,  if  he  has  been  in  the 
market,  and  the  broker  fails  to  make  good  his  delivery  there  is  usually 
the  devil  to  pay.  It  is  needless  to  emphasize  that  this  practice  should 
be  frowned  down  and  bitterly  opposed  by  the  trade  at  large,  for  just  such 
business  has  been  responsible  for  losses  of  friendships  and  money  galore. 
I  have  no  purpose  to  make  any  insinuations  against  brokers  as  a  whole, 
for  I  have  already  pointed  out  that  a  good  broker  is  a  blessing  in  many 
cases,  and  I  deem  it  his  function  in  the  scheme  of  handling  produce  is  a 
legitimate  one  so  long  as  he  confines  himself  to  legitimate  trading  within 
legitimate  lines.  But  above  everything  he  should  not  be  a  speculator,  and 
if  he  must  speculate  he  should  speculate  on  his  own  money  and  his  own 


SPECULATION  37 

reputation,  and  not  presume  to  make  a  cat's-paw  of  other  people,  too  often 
without  their  knowledge  or  consent. 

In  conclusion,  I  want  to  say  that  a  very  large  percentage  of  the  dan- 
gerous speculation  connected  with  handling  fruits  and  produce  can  be  reg- 
ulated within  safe  bounds  and  often  entirely  eliminated  by  the  trade  at 
large  if  proper  steps  are  taken  in  time. 

The  man  or  the  firm  who  knows  the  ground  thoroughly  and  who  works 
in  the  light  of  past  experience  is  justified  in  taking  risks  that  may  be  dan- 
gerous guess  work  for  the  inexperienced  operator  with  a  limited  capital 
and  trade.  Exact  knowledge  is  the  best  preventive  of  dangerous 
speculation. 

In  truth,  speculation  itself  ceases  to  be  speculative  when  the  crucial  test 
of  common  sense  is  rigidly  applied  and  the  element  of  chance  is  reduced 
to  a  minimum  or  eliminated  so  far  as  possible.  Although  there  may  be 
losses  now  and  then  to  be  charged  against  the  seasoned  speculator  in 
produce  lines  which  he  knows  from  beginning  to  end,  the  sum  total  of  his 
operations  may  be  expected  to  overbalance  by  far  the  minor  losses  result- 
ing from  his  taking  advantages  of  promising  opportunities  now  and  then. 

As  folly  leads  to  its  own  destruction,  so  does  wild  speculation  work 
out  its  own  ruin.  Those  who  get  the  fever  too  strong  and  who  fail  to  dis- 
cover the  error  of  their  way  in  time  will  sooner  or  later  be  wiped  off  the 
map  and  sink  into  utter  oblivion. 

So  long  as  speculation  is  mere  guess  work  it  is  to  be  deprecated.  When 
it  is  based  on  experience,  or  if  a  course  of  careful  reasoning  and  obser- 
vation has  preceded  the  determination  to  buy,  it  may  be  only  a  good  in- 
vestment that  will  become  a  touchstone  and  turn  things  into  gold. 


CHAPTER    V 

INFORMATION 

It  is  not  amiss  even  at  this  early  stage  of  our  survey  of  the  produce 
business  to  devote  a  chapter  to  the  right  important  subject  of  informa- 
tion. But  I  hope  I  may  be  pardoned  on  account  of  the  possible  charge  of 
posing  as  an  oracle  that  knows  all  even  about  the  kinds  of  information 
necessary  for  the  peaceful  and  profitable  conduct  of  the  business  we  are 
considering,  though  I  have  spent  several  years  of  study  on  some  phases  of 
this  subject,  and  I  think  my  observations  have  not  been  wholly  in  vain. 

The  old  lady  who  is  credited  by  tradition  with  the  always  ready  re- 
mark that'  "If  our  foresights  were  only  as  good  as  our  hind  sights  folks 
would  be  saved  lots  of  trouble"  no  doubt  expressed  more  philosophy  than 
can  be  readily  understood.  Her  criticism  of  the  shortcoming  of  human 
wisdom  is  especially  applicable  to  produce  affairs. 

In  this  line  of  commercial  endeavor  we  have  under  investigation  a 
premium  is  always  put  on  the  judgment  that  can  penetrate  the  future 
and  know  when  it  is  best  to  buy  or  sell.,  when  best  to  grow,  ship  or  store, 
or  even  to  give  away  an  article,  for  there  are  "white  elephants"  in  the 
produce  business.  Whoever  can  foresee  what  is  best  to  do  in  a  majority 
of  cases  is  perhaps  a  direct  descendant  of  Solomon. 

To  know  what  to  do  and  how  to  do  it  is,  therefore,  a  prime  requisite 
to  the  successful  operation  of  any  phase  of  the  business.  It  takes  some 
severe  jolts  to  teach  some  people  simple  lessons,  and  now  and  then  you 
will  find  a  man  who  has  grown  gray-headed  in  the  business  who  has  been 
tripping  and  falling  over  the  same  old  stumbling  block  every  time  he 
comes  across  it.  Such  people  wonder  why  they  never  seem  to  get  ahead, 
yet  they  fail  to  take  the  pains  to  look,  to  think.  They  are  sadly  in  need 
of  reliable  information  in  a  majority  of  cases,  I  believe. 

Again,  there  are  a  few  men,  only  a  few,  in  the  business  who  possess  a 
genius  for  doing  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time,  and  many  people  are 
pleased  to  call  them  lucky  because  of  their  frequent  and  sometimes  bril- 
liant coups.  Usually  they  are  men  who  weigh  carefully  and  assimilate 
all  available  information. 

38 


INFORMATION  39 

Things  rarely  happen;  they  usually  shape  themselves  after  a  plan. 
It  is  the  man  with  a  plan  that  turns  the  world  upside  down  before  break- 
fast. By  this  I  mean  the  man  who  does  things,  or  in  curbstone  vernacular 
who  "gets  there."  Such  men  may  be  quick  to  decide  and  generally  apt 
in  deciding  right,  yet  you  overestimate  when  you  credit  them  with  a 
mental  equipment  too  far  above  the  ordinary.  The  men  who  have  made 
most  startling  successes  in  produce  affairs  are  usually  only  ordinary 
mortals.,  but  most  of  them  have  very  extraordinary  methods  for  thought 
and  action.  It  often  happens  that  an  important  deal  involving  consider- 
able money  and  profits  can  be  transacted  in  a  few  minutes  by  an  em- 
ploye, but  which  required  an  hour  or  two  or  perhaps  a  day  or  two  for  the 
boss  to  plan  and  get  in  shape  for  closing,  and  so  mapped  out  that  it  had 
to  go  right. 

I  cannot  emphasize  too  much  the  importance  of  careful  thinking  out  of 
every  detail  whenever  possible,  although  details  must  give  way  to  general 
plans.  If  it  is  possible,  information  both  general  and  detailed,  should  be 
procured  and  studied  by  dealers,  shippers  and  everybody  in  the  trade. 
An  intelligent  selection  is  necessary,  of  course,  in  most  cases  for  dif- 
ferent lines,  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  no  piece  of  real  information  of  im- 
portance is  not  worth  while  to  well  nigh  everyone  in  the  trade.  The 
grower  of  early  potatoes  in  the  southwest  should  keep  well  informed  as 
to  the  visible  supply  of  old  potatoes  in  the  northern  territory  for  late  use 
when  the  new  crop  will  come  on  the  market.  Forsooth,  he  should  know 
approximately  before  he  even  plants  his  early  crop.  The  lemon  grower 
in  California  should  be  abreast  of  conditions  in  the  rest  of  the  lemon 
growing  sections  of  the  world,  and  he  should  know  just  as  nearly  as 
possible  what  the  next  Sicily  crop  will  be.  The  illustration  might  be 
continued  indefinitely,  but  I  am  sure  everyone  will  easily  see  the  point 
I  am  driving  at,  namely,  know  all  about  your  line  you  can. 

No  one  individual  or  even  an  organization  of  individuals  that  has  ever 
been  formed  so  far  can  dig  out  and  classify  a  line  of  information  rela- 
tive to  any  particular  commodity  that  will  be  an  absolutely  certain  guide 
on  which  to  do  business.  But  there  is  no  doubt  that  carefully  collected 
and  correctly  classified  information  is  the  nearest  to  an  infallible  guide 
so  far  as  a  guide  can  be  constructed  for  the  direction  of  this  business  into 
which  so  many  variable  factors  enter,  and  in  which  so  many  aggravat- 
ing circumstances  constantly  arise.  But  the  mariner's  compass  can 
hardly  be  blamed  for  a  shipwreck  due  to  a  sudden  storm,  as  the  compass 
is  only  designed  to  point  north  and  south,  and  it  may  have  done  its  own 
work  admirably  but  at  the  same  time  furnished  poor  marine  insurance. 

Information,  in  its  varied  forms,  comes  of  course -either  in  printed  or 


40       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

verbal  reports,  or  from  such  evidences  as  the  observer  may  be  able  to 
scan  in  his  own  horizon  with  his  own  eye.  But  we  shall  see  later  on  that 
the  average  observer  who  depends  upon  his  own  limited  range  of  vision 
is  no  better  off  so  far  as  correct  information  is  concerned  than  if  he  were 
blind.  Local  conditions  in  any  given  section  may  be  worthless,  considered 
alone,  so  far  as  the  general  situation  over  the  country  is  concerned. 
However,  conditions  in  one  locality  may  have  a  considerable  bearing 
on  conditions  throughout  the  country,  provided  they  are  taken  collectively 
and  viewed  intelligently. 

Let  me  illustrate :  For  some  reason  the  pear  crop  in  Blank  county,  New 
York,  may  be  short  fifty  per  cent  compared  with  the  normal  crop.  With- 
out taking  into  consideration  the  yield  out  of  about  all  other  important 
pear  bearing  districts  it  would  be  unwise  to  conclude  that  the  pear  crop 
all  over  the  country  is  short  because  it  is  short  in  Blank  county.  Every 
day  the  trade  is  realizing  more  and  more  that  the  country  must  be  viewed 
as  a  whole,  and  it  is  with  the  aim  of  getting  a  broad  view  of  conditions 
that  we  are  mostly  concerned  when  we  consider,  at  least  a  majority  of 
commodities  embraced  in  produce  lines. 

If  I  knew  an  absolutely  sure  method  of  obtaining  accurate  informa- 
tion that  could  be  relied  upon  implicity  I  would  hardly  be  disposed  to  print 
it  in  this  book  in  exchange  for  a  small  sum  when  I  could  have  the 
system  patented  and  sell  it  to  different  people  for  thousands  of  dollars. 

There  is  no  hard  and  fast  set  of  rules  that  can  be  applied  indiscrim- 
inately to  all  lines  and  which  will  secure- the  desired  results  in  obtaining 
information.  The  reports  on  different  crops  and  produce  commodities 
issued  from  time  to  time  by  the  general  government,  and  also  by  the 
various  state  governments,  are  supposed  to  be  collected  from  reliable 
sources  and  to  be  intelligently  classified,  yet  there  is  hardly  a  reasonable 
doubt  that  many  of  these  documents  and  reports  are  often  more  worthless 
for  business  purposes  than  the  blank  paper  on  which  they  are  printed. 
Not  only  do  they  often  possess  no  value  in  throwing  light  on  exact  con- 
ditions, but  they  frequently  have  an  evil  influence  in  creating  wrong  sen- 
timents and  adversely  affecting  the  markets.  In  this  connection  I  think 
it  only  worth  while  to  cite  the  manner  in  which  figures  published  an- 
nually relating  to  cotton  have  been  juggled  with  for  years  by  crooked 
statisticians  for  the  benefit  of  even  more  crooked  gamblers  throughout  the 
country  who  had  been  playing  try-ball  with  this  staple  commodity  from 
time  immemorial.  The  same  erroneous  dope  has  also  been  issued,  either 
by  accident  or  design,  relating  to  other  crops  of  the  country  as  sub- 
sequent conditions  have  shown  in  some  cases.  But  I  cannot  forbear  to 
mention  in  this  connection  that  there  is  apparently  a  noticeable  improve- 


INFORMATION  41 

merit  in  most  of  these  government  bulletins,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  a 
general  housecleaning  and  brushing  up  will  take  place  eventually  which 
will  rid  the  different  departments  not  only  of  their  employees  and  at- 
taches who  on  occasions  have  given  such  poor  service,  but  also  of  every 
phase  of  suspicion  or  carelessness  in  making  up  these  documents.  A 
report  relative  to  growing  crops  or  the  visible  supply  of  any  produce 
commodity  in  the  country  which  is  undertaken  by  the  general  or  any  state 
government  should  be  a  model  of  accuracy,  completeness  and  neatness 
and  this  high  standard  should  be  maintained  at  all  hazards.  Of  course, 
the  general  purpose  of  the  government  reports,  both  state  and  national, 
cannot  be  questioned,  for  they  are  intended  to  be  of  value  to  the  public. 

Aside  from  being  accurate,  information  must  be  complete  if  it  is  worth 
while,  and  for  these  reasons  it  is  plain  tc  see  that  it  costs  money.  Skilled 
talent  must  direct  its  collection  and  compilation,  and  owing  to  the  wide 
latitude  that  must  be  covered  in  anything  like  a  general  report,  it  is  easy 
enough  to  see  that  the  undertaking  is  no  small  task  when  a  commodity 
is  grown  or  produced  over  a  considerable  area  in  different  sections. 

Another  thing  which  is  essential  for  information  is  that  it  shall  be 
recent  and  down-to-date  if  it  is  to  be  taken  into  account  as  a  market  in- 
fluence. Statistical  reports  for  a  decade  may  be  valuable  for  comparative 
purposes  but  well  nigh  worthless  so  far  as  the  coming  crop  about  which 
they  relate  may  be  concerned.  For  this  very  reason  I  am  led  to  believe 
that  a  great  deal  of  money  spent  by  our  federal  government  has  been 
wasted  in  publishing  dignified,  gigantic  volumes,  that  are  out  of  date  for 
all  practical  purposes  sometimes  before  they  are  off  the  press.  But  I  pre- 
sume the  libraries  over  the  country  have  to  be  filled  with  something,  and 
for  this  and  other  causes  the  less  said  about  them  the  better,  and  maybe 
I  should  drop  this  feature  of  the  subject  here. 

The  various  newspapers  and  publications  devoted  to  different  lines 
of  the  trade  are  valuable  assets  in  keeping  abreast  of  what  is  going  on, 
but  it  is  necessary  that  even  these  papers  be  scrutinized  carefully  and 
watched  all  the  time,  for  it  occasionally  happens  some  of  the  most  asinine 
dope  imaginable  is  served  through  their  columns.  *A  few  of  the  papers 
specialize,  however,  and  as  a  general  thing  they  are  nearer  the  truth  than 
such  papers  as  are  concerned  with  produce  matters  only  as  a  secondary 
issue.  Too  often  these  newspaper  reports  are  taken  at  second  hand  01 
even  third  hand. 

Individual  firms  or  associations  should  make  it  a  special  point  to  have 
a  system  of  their  own,  designed  for  their  special  requirements,  and  to 
cover  such  territory  as  may  be  necessary  in -procuring  the  vital  data  so 
necessary  for  their  purposes. 


42       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

An  inquiry  blank  containing  a  half  dozen  or  more  questions  covering 
a  certain  commodity  can  be  run  off  on  a  mimeograph  or  otherwise  printed 
in  short  order,  and  can  be  mailed  with  a  two  cent  stamp  to  different  people 
with  a  request  that  they  answer  the  questions  relative  to  conditions  about 
a  given  crop  or  market  in  their  locality. 

It  is  usually  best  to  enclose  a  stamped  envelope  for  reply,  and  in  this 
way  the  cost  of  each  report  does  not  amount  to  more  than  a  few  cents. 
By  using  this  system  a  wide  territory  can  be  covered  at  a  nominal  cost, 
and  as  a  general  thing  the  writer  finds  this  an  excellent  system  for  ob- 
taining prompt  information  arid  the  kind  which  is  usually  most  depend- 
able. It  is  surprising  how  swiftly  these  reports  can  be  handled  when 
promptness  is  requested  of  the  addressee.  It  hardly  requires  a  week  to 
hear  from  all  sections  of  the  country.  Of  course,  where  special  swift- 
ness is  desired  it  is  best  to  use  the  telegraph  or  the  telephone.  Although 
the  cost  comes  higher,  still  it  is  frequently  a  good  investment  to  spend 
twenty-five  dollars  to  be  correctly  informed  for  one  day's  business. 

But  it  is  necessary  if  information  is  to  be  valuable  it  must  be  correct, 
and  correctness  is  not  always  possible  if  collected  in  too  great  a  rush. 
However,  most  crop  reports  are  only  estimates  and  are  only  designed 
to  be  approximately  accurate.  For  all  practical  purposes  these  estimates, 
if  secured  from  reliable  sources,  are  as  good  as  exact  figures  to  afford  a 
basis  for  trading.  If  a  complete  series  of  reports  are  secured,  for  exam- 
ple, from  a  considerable  number  of  reliable  potato  growers  and  shippers 
in  the  leading  potato  growing  sections,  and  these  reports  show  conclu- 
sively that  the  acreage  has  been  increased  compared  with  last  year,  also 
that  favorable  weather  has  prevailed  for  potato  growing  and  that  no 
damage  more  than  the  average  has  resulted  from  bugs,  blight  or  rot,  then 
it  is  fairly  safe  to  expect  a  good  yield  of  potatoes.  But  the  yield  of  a  given 
crop  is  not  an  absolutely  sure  index  as  to  what  that  crop  will  sell  for,  as 
there  are  many  factors  that  enter  into  making  prices  besides  the  yield, 
which  we  have  already  observed  and  will  see  more  clearly  later  on. 

To  get  correct  information  it  is  essential  that  it  come  from  reliable 
sources.  Many  growers  and  shippers  are  absolutely  unable  to  give  an 
accurate  idea  of  a  crop  or  a  commodity  in  which  they  may  be  interested. 
The  reason  for  this  is  not  far  to  seek,  as  it  is  only  human  nature  to  be 
biased  by  one's  interests.  But  it  is  becoming  more  and  more  evident  that 
it  is  bad  policy  to  try  to  mislead  the  trade  about  what  a  crop  yield  will 
be,  or  how  much  of  a  given  produce  commodity  may  be  available,  as  these 
distorted  reports  sooner  or  later  act  as  a  kind  of  boomerang  that  comes 
back  and  makes  trouble. 

For  instance,  it  is  bad  business  for  the  growers  themselves  to  scatter 


INFORMATION  43 

broadcast  a  report  that  the  apple  crop  is  short  if  such  is  not  really  the 
case,  for  when  the  time  comes  for  putting  this  crop  on  the  market  the 
truth  is  found  out ;  buyers  become  nervous  and  refuse  to  pay  prices  asked 
by  the  growers  for  fear  the  real  truth  about  the  visible  supply  of  apples 
has  not  been  discovered,  and  that  they  will  be  buying  trouble  as  well  as 
apples  by  paying  prices  asked. 

As  a  general  thing,  however,  it  does  not  take  long  for  the  real  truth 
about  fruits  and  vegetables  and  other  produce  to  be  found  out,  or  for 
the  trained  people  in  the  trade  to  learn  what  is  doing  in  a  score  of  mar- 
kets and  in  a  hundred  growing  sections.  No  line  of  business  is  more  in- 
timately related  than  the  produce  trade,  although  the  complexities  of  the 
business  and  the  petty  jealousies  that  have  sprung  up  among  some,  often 
conspire  to  defeat  the  good  ends  that  might  be  attained  in  the  trade  if 
sensible  co-operation  were  more  universal  than  now  is  the  case. 

We  have  observed  in  another  chapter  the  importance  of  the  trade  keep- 
ing abreast  of  the  times,  and  the  pleasure  that  attends  systematic 
study,  but  I  want  to  note  here  the  great  value  accruing  from  thorough 
s  tudy  and  from  being  well  informed.  For  the  small  outlay  involved  in  ob- 
laJning  suitable  literature  these  days  information  is  within  the  reach  of 
all.  And  it  does  not  take  more  time  than  can  be  afforded  to  read  up  on 
conditions.  Then  a  reasonable  amount  of  correspondence  among  grow- 
ers, associations  or  dealers  may  be  undertaken  if  an  exchange  of  views  is 
desired. 

To  that  r^lass  of  the  trade  engaged  in  buying  and  selling  fruits  and 
produce  it  will  hardly  seem  worth  while  to  offer  any  suggestions  in  refer- 
ence to  the  necessity  of  being  informed,  and  I  should  refrain  from  tak- 
ing up  any  time  with  the  dealers  were  it  not  that  I  have  seen  so  many 
cases  where  the  absence  of  important  correct  information  has  caused 
losses  of  money  as  well  as  losses  of  friendships,  and  where  opportunities 
to  make  money  have  not  been  taken  advantage  of  by  a  firm  or  individual 
that  lacked  the  information,  but  which  was  seized  upon  and  made  to  yield 
profits  and  pleasure  to  others  who  had  been  wide  enough  awake  to  get 
the  information  necessary  to  the  proper  and  prompt  handling  of  trades 
that  fell  their  way. 

Information  is  the  very  bed  rock  on  which  business  must  be  transacted, 
and  it  is  equally  necessary  for  the  legitimate  dealer  and  for  the  success- 
ful speculator.  Indeed,  it  is  doubtful  if  the  speculator  really  speculates 
if  he  has  not  the  correct  information  on  which  to  base  his  judgment  as 
to  when  to  buy.  and  when  to  sell,  and  what  difference,  if  any,  exists  be- 
tween price  and  value  as  applied  to  a  given  commodity. 

A  great  many  people  who  are  well  informed  canirot  give  an  offhand 


44       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

idea  about  how  they  obtained  their  information,  for  in  many  cases  infor- 
mation has  to  be  absorbed  from  a  hundred  different  sources  and  assimi- 
lated through  a  hundred  different  processes.  Of  course,  this  figure  of 
speech  will  not  be  construed  literally,  but  what  I  am  driving  at  is  to 
establish  the  fact  that  information  cannot  be  pulled  out  as  a  cork  is  from 
a  bottle  with  a  cork  screw,  nor  can  it  be  swept  up  with  a  broom,  nor  can 
it  be  bought  oftentimes  for  pure  gold. 

Information  comes  on  every  current  during  the  day  and  it  often  dies  at 
sunset;  it  is  sometimes  old  before  the  dew  has  dried  on  it  in  the  morn- 
ing; sometimes  it  happens  to  be  disguised  by  an  outer  coating  and  woe 
unto  the  heavy  operator  who  gets  a  wrong  tip  or  who  fails  to  interpret  a 
piece  of  gospel  dope. 

The  firm  or  individual  who  attempts  to  buy  and  sell,  and  who  is  not  cor- 
rectly informed  will  meet  troubles  of  various  kinds  which  might  be 
avoided  if  some  energy  were  put  into  collecting  and  assimilating  the  right 
kind  of  information.  To  succeed  in  any  branch  of  the  produce  business 
it  means  that  one  must  have  and  keep  dpwn-to-date  and  up-to-date 
information. 

It  is  true  that  some  judgment  and  skill  must  be  employed  to  select  jvv.st 
what  information  is  essential  and  what  is  not.  All  information  relatjng 
to  the  business  is  good  for  those  engaged  in  the  business,  although  a/Q  Of 
it  may  not  be  absolutely  necessary.  The  man  who  raises  poultry  ex- 
clusively may  have  failed  to  see  where  he  might  become  vitally  interested 
in  legislation  effecting  cold  storages,  and  as  a  general  proposition  there 
could  hardly  be  expected  to  be  more  than  a  common  sympathy  between 
those  interested  in  the  raising  of  poultry  and  people  engaged  in  con- 
ducting a  storage  business.  But  it  recently  .became  necessary  that  the 
cold  storages,  whose  business  was  jeopardized  by  the  proposing  of  un- 
wise and  dangerous  legislation,  to  appeal  to  the  commercial  poultry 
raiser,  who  is  also  in  the  tr^de,  for  his  influence  in  defeating  such  legisla- 
tion as  threatened  seriously  to  affect  if  not  actually  ruin  the  business  of 
one  or  both.  This  applies  to  case  after  case  involving  different  business 
interests  in  the  trade  and  which  every  well  informed  man  knows  to  be  true. 

New  conditions  are  constantly  arising  and  new  problems  are  present- 
ing themselves  before  the  trade  for  solution;  new  opportunities  are  open- 
ing constantly,  new  fortunes,  new  enterprises,  new  people  and  hundreds 
of  other  things  are  coming  up  all  the  time,  and  sometimes  the  very  thing 
you  want  to  know  about  and  should  know  about  escapes  your  attention 
through  your  own  fault  in  not  trying  to  find  out  about  it. 

Obviously  the  moral  of  this  chapter  is  to  get  all  the  information  you 
can  and  use  it  the  best  you  know  how. 


CHAPTER    VI 

TRANSPORTATION 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  fruits  and  produce  are  generally  shipped  some 
considerable  distance  from  the  localities  where  they  are  grown  or  pro- 
duced to  the  places  where  they  are  handled  and  consumed  in  the  larger 
market  centers,  and  owing  to  the  perishable  nature  of  such  articles  it  is 
quite  evident  that  the  item  of  transportation  is  one  highly  important  as 
it  relates  to  and  affects  the  various  branches  of  the  trade. 

In  the  limited  space  at  my  disposal  in  this  volume  I  can  only  hope  to 
refer  briefly  to  some  of  the  important  phases  of  transportation  matters 
which  I  consider  to  be  of  vital  interest  to  growers,  shippers  and  dealers 
everywhere.  And  in  this  connection  I  may  say  that  some  remarks  which 
may  be  made  while  treating  on  this  subject  might  be  construed  as  being 
of  entirely  too  radical  a  character.  But  at  the  same  time  I  want  it  clearly 
understood  that  whatever  I  may  say  on  this  subject  springs  from  genu- 
ine convictions  which  have  come  from  observing  the  general  methods  of 
transportation  in  this  country,  and  also  the  very  serious  and  damaging 
effects  to  the  general  public  from  what  I  conceive  to  be  gross  transporta- 
tion abuses.  At  the  same  time  I  trust  that  those  who  read  this  volume 
may  be  fair  enough  to  give  me  credit  for  suggesting  only  such  remedies 
as  appear  to  me  to  be  rational  and  expedient. 

Taking  the  matter  of  transportation  by  and  large,  it  no  doubt  possesses 
many  commendable  features,  but  withal  some  faults  which  must  be  consid- 
ered seriously,  however  we  may  look  at  the  subject.  No  doubt,  as  time 
goes  on  we  shall  get  nearer  the  millennium,  and  there  will  be  many  im- 
provements in  all  branches  of  transportation  which  will  make  the  present 
system  look  more  like  child's  play  than  it  now  does  to  a  candid  observer 
who  may  be  given  credit  for  investigating  such  matters  carefully  and 
impartially,  and  not  forming  conclusions  too  quickly. 

At  the  outset  I  want  to  be  fair  enough  to  say  that  I  really  feel  the 
shipping  public  has  invited  a  number  of  the  transportation  abuses  with 

45 


46  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

which  we  are  cursed,  and  with  which  we  are  contending  in  a  greater 
or  lesser  degree.  For  example,,  the  car  shortages  and  consequent  conges- 
tion of  traffic  frequently  resulting  therefrom  have  been  induced  in  a  largo 
measure  by  consignees  in  various  markets  who  too  frequently  make  it  a 
practice  to  leave  loaded  cars  on  track  at  destination  an  undue  length  of 
time,  preferring  to  pay  demurrage  charges  instead  of  providing  the  neces- 
sary warehouse  facilities  to  take  care  of  shipments.  Yet  this  practice 
alone  cannot  be  charged  with  being  the  sole  cause  of  the  car  shortages  that 
develop  from  time  to  time. 

Now  and  then  complaint  is  heard  among  the  railroad  men  that  cars  of 
potatoes,  etc.,  are  left  on  track  at  destination  as  long  as  30  days,  and 
there  are  lots  of  cases  where  other  kinds  of  produce  are  kept  for  an  un- 
due period  in  cars  which  should  be  used  for  moving  other  traffic.  Some 
of  the  more  intelligent  traffic  men  in  the  produce  trade  say  that  it  would 
be  a  blessing  if  car  service  rules  were  revised,  and  instead  of  charging  a 
demurrage  of  $1  a  day  if  cars  are  not  unloaded  within  48  hours  after 
arrival  at  destination,  that  the  fee  should  be  made  $10  a  day  for  every 
day  longer  than  the  first  48  hours.  While  this  rule  would  seem  to  be 
rather  extreme,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  would  facilitate  the  move- 
ment of  traffic  wonderfully  and  would  do  away  largely  with  a  certain 
element  in  the  trade  in  the  larger  markets  who  have  no  place  of  busi- 
ness but  "down  on  the  tracks,"  and  whose  business, — assets,  bank  ac- 
counts and  all, — is  carried  under  their  hats. 

But  on  the  other  hand,  I  believe  the  railroads  should  be  made  to  stand 
losses  incurred  by  failure  to  provide  suitable  equipment  to  move  traffic 
when  it  is  offered  and  is  ready  to  move,  whatever  car  service  rules  might 
be  in  effect.  I  am  sure  there  are  wholesome  arguments  in  favor  of  the  so 
called  reciprocal  demurrage,  and  it  is  a  pity  that  some  such  system  could 
not  have  been  put  into  effect  long  ago. 

The  subject  of  claims  against  transportation  companies  affords  ample 
material  for  a  good  size  volume.  The  money  tied  up  in  claims  for  over- 
charges in  freight  bills  and  in  loss  in  damage  claims  which  belongs  to 
the  produce  trade  in  the  United  States  would  be  equivalent  to  all  the 
money  in  some  of  our  largest  banks. 

Thousands  of  these  claims  are  perfectly  legitimate  and  can  hardly 
be  disputed,  but  the  claim  departments  apparently  must  have  something 
to  toy  with  and  to  use  their  form  letters  on  so  as  to  keep  the  rust  off  their 
typewriters.  The  way  in  which  the  average  claim  department  operates 
would  certainly  justify  the  supposition  that  it  is  designed  rather  to  pre- 
vent than  to  facilitate  the  adjustment  of  claims. 

The  cardinal  sin  that  most  claim  officials*  will  have  to  answer  for,  I  be- 


TRANSPORTATION  47 

lieve,  is  that  of  their  nerve-racking  slowness.  If  someone  could  inject  a 
good  dose  of  "make  haste"  into  the  average  claim  department  it  would  re- 
lieve the  shipping  public  of  lots  of  profanity,  induced  from  suspense  day 
after  day,  and  sometimes  year  after  year  before  action  is  obtained  and 
final  report  is  made  on  certain  important  claims.  In  urging  the  payment 
of  railroad  claims  promptly  after  reasonable  investigation  does  not  neces- 
sarily imply  that  the  railroads  would  give  up  more  money  than  they  are 
now  paying  for  claims,  but  they  would  not  have  the  indefinite  use  of 
money  that  does  not  belong  to  them. 

Some  provision  should  be  made  in  our  laws  regulating  transportation, 
wrhereby  a  common  carrier  should  be  given  a  stated  time  to  investigate  a 
claim  and  report  on  it  definitely,  and  if  they  fail  to  comply,  judgment 
should  thereupon  issue  against  the  common  carrier  and  the  claimant  be 
allowed  to  realize  on  same  forthwith.  This  would  be  only  a  reversal  of 
the  present  system  which  is  practiced  by  the  common  carriers  themselves. 

Because  there  seems  to  be  a  lack  of  care  shown  among  dealers  espe- 
cially in  smaller  markets  in  the  matter  of  handling  claims  I  feel  that  a 
few  suggestions  from  some  practical  traffic  men  may  not  come  amiss. 

In  order  to  get  a  claim  paid  it  should  be  properly  made  out  and  filed 
in  the  right  way.  No  doubt  lots  of  time  and  money  would  be  saved  if  a 
few  details  were  observed. 

In  presenting  overcharge  claims,  for  example,  it  is  frequently  the  case 
that  no  reference  whatever  is  given  to  any  tariff  as  authority  for  the 
rate  claimed,  and  in  some  cases  no  reason  whatever  is  given  for  the  claim, 
except  that  the  party  making  it  thinks  that  the  rate  charged  is  too  high. 
Such  claims  are  not  entitled  to  serious  consideration,  of  course. 

In  the  case  of  loss  or  damage  claims  sufficient  care  is  not  exercised  in 
many  cases  to  have  proper  exceptions  taken  at  the  time  of  delivery  of  a 
shipment  and  when  claim  is  presented,  investigation  shows  that  clear 
receipt  was  given,  and,  of  course,  claims  then  must  be  declined  until  proof 
of  liability  is  shown,  which  frequently  causes  an  undue  loss  of  time. 

The  fact  that  the  rules  of  the  railroad  companies  require  a  receipt  to 
be  signed  before  the  property  is  seen  does  not  at  all  prevent  the  proper 
exceptions  being  taken  when  a  shipment  is  found  to  be  short  or  dam- 
aged. In  such  cases  draymen  should  insist  upon  the  shortage  or  bad 
order  notation  being  made  upon  his  receipt  before  taking  the  property 
out  of  the  possession  of  the  railroad  company.  Should  agents  refuse  to 
allow  such  notation  then  the  facts  should  at  once  be  reported  to  the  con- 
signee, who  should  notify  the  agent,  in  writing  (not  by  telephone)  of  the 
particulars  of  damage  and  that  shipment  is  on  hand  for  his  inspection. 

Quite  a  good  deal  of  the  delay  in  settlement  of  damage  claims  will  be 


48  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

obviated  by  having  a  good  clear  record  made  at  the  time  damaged  goods 
are  received,  and  the  facts  clearly  set  forth  in  claim  when  presented. 
Generally  freight  claim  agents  stand  ready  to  co-operate  in  having  proper 
record  made  in  all  cases  of  damage  at  the  time  delivery  is  made. 

It  is  the  best  plan  for  those  shipping  and  receiving  produce  of  all 
kinds  to  keep  a  permanent  record  of  all  data  relative  to  shipments  going 
out  or  coming  in. 

For  all  dealers  or  receivers  the  following  information  should  be  kept, 
especially  in  handling  car  lots :  The  exact  date  and  time  car  reported  ar- 
rived by  the  railroad ;  where,  date  and  time  of  day  car  inspected ;  tem- 
perature inside  and  outside  of  car;  amount  of  ice  in  bunkers,  "plugs"  in 
or  out,  or  how  ventilated;  appearance  and  condition  of  commodity;  date 
and  on  whom  connected  with  railroad  or  express  company  was  notice 
of  claim  served ;  date  and  whom  of  the  railroad,  or  express  company  was 
requested  to  examine;  where  and  when,  and  by  whom  examined  for  rail- 
road or  express  company. 

Claims  for  overcharge  in  rate,  classification  or  weight  should  be  sup- 
ported by: 

First — Original  paid  freight  bill.  But  when  original  paid  freight  bill 
cannot  be  produced,  claimant  should  indemnify  carrier  against  loss  for 
payment  of  claim  supported  by  original  document. 

Second — Original  invoice  or  certified  copy  of  same  where  claim  is 
based  on  wrong  classification. 

Third — Sworn  certificate  of  weight  when  claim  is  based  upon  an  over- 
charge in  weight. 

Fourth — Original  bill  of  lading,  if  not  previously  surrendered  to  the 
carrier  or  certified  copy  of  same.  But  the  original  bill  of  lading  is  not 
an  essential  part  of  an  overcharge  claim  and  its  absence  should  not  in  any 
way  invalidate  claim. 

Fifth — When  claim  is  for  overcharge  in  rate,  tariff  reference  should 
be  given  for  rate  or  classification  claimed  whenever  it  can  be  obtained 
by  claimant,  as  this  greatly  simplifies  adjustment. 

Sixth — Statement  showing  how  overcharge  is  determined. 

Claims  for  loss  and  damage  should  be  supported  by  the  following 
documents : 

First — Original  bill  of  lading  if  same  has  not  been  surrendered  to 
carrier. 

Second — The  original  paid  freight  bill. 

Third — Original  invoice  or  properly  certified  copy  of  same. 

Fourth — Formal  bill  from  claimant  setting  forth  in  detail  amount  of 
loss  or  damage  and  how  same  is  arrived  at. 


TRANSPORTATION  49 

Fifth — Where  original  bill  of  lading  or  original  paid  freight  bill  can- 
not be  produced,  claimant  should  indemnify  carrier  against  loss  for  pay- 
ment of  claim  supported  by  original  document. 

In  handling  claims  for  concealed  loss  and  damage  it  is  desirable  to 
furnish  in  addition  to  the  foregoing — 

First — Affidavit  from  the  shipper  that  property  as  called  for  by  the  in- 
voice was  properly  and  carefully  packed  and  in  condition  to  withstand 
all  ordinary  risks  of  transportation,  and  was  delivered  to  the  railroad 
in  good  condition. 

Second — Affidavit  from  drayman  at  destination  setting  forth  that  the 
package  or  packages  were  handled  with  proper  care  from  the  railroad 
station  to  consignee's  store  or  warehouse  and  met  with  no  accident  which 
could  cause  loss  or  damage,  and 

Third — Affidavit  from  party  who  unpacked  the  shipments,  setting  forth 
the  exact  condition  of  same  when  unpacked. 

In  all  cases  where  there  is  a  shortage  or  damage  it  is  a  good  plan  to 
observe  the  following: 

(a)  Shortages  discovered  at  time  of  delivery  should  be  endorsed  on 
the  paid  freight  bill. 

(b)  Damages  discovered  at  time  of  delivery  should  be  endorsed  upon 
the  paid  freight  bill,  such  notation  to  state  the  exact  extent  and  nature  of 
damage. 

Some  people  in  the  trade  declare  they  find  it  a  good  plan  in  filing 
claims  to  advise  the  railroad  or  express  company  against  whom  claim 
is  made  that  if  the  claim  is  not  given  attention  and  reported  on  within  60 
or  90  days  it  will  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  an  attorney  with  instructions 
to  bring  suit. 

And  while  this  policy  may  seem  a  bit  strenuous  it  is  no  doubt  justified 
from  the  experience'  some  people  have  had,  and  in  the  matter  of  over- 
charges it  would  probably  be  as  well  to  put  the  limit  at  30  days  or  less. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  too  much  of  the  trade's  money  is  tied  up 
in  claims,  and  that  too  much  time  is  wasted  in  collecting  money  that 
ought  to  be  paid  promptly. 

Minimum  carload  weights  are  a  source  of  much  distress  in  handling 
certain  commodities.  No  general  rule  can  be  set  down  for  the  regulation 
of  this  proposition,  but  everyone  knows  that  there  is  a  safe  limit  for  the 
loading  of  perishables,  and  when  this  limit  is  exceeded  losses  are  certain 
from  heating  and  crowding.  Shippers  who  are  too  economical,  and  want 
to  effect  a  saving  in  freight  by  overloading,  invite  trouble  on  this  score. 
Tire  limit  should  be  set  at  a  reasonable  figure  and  rigidly  observed.  But 
it  never  should  be  unreasonable.  Those  who  are  not 'versed  in  moving 


50       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

perishables  should  always  get  the  advice  of  an  experienced  person  who 
knows  how  many  packages  or  how  much  weight  can  be  safely  loaded  into 
a  car  for  different  distances  under  different  temperatures,,  and  should 
be  governed  accordingly. 

It  would  be  an  excellent  plan  if  a  uniform  system  were  devised  to 
allow  destination  weights  to  govern  in  assessing  freight  charges,  at  least, 
on  a  majority  of  perishable  commodities  in  the  fruit  and  produce  cata- 
log. The  shrinkage  in  the  weight  of  a  car  of  vegetables  is  usually  a  con- 
siderable item,  and  where  goods  are  being  sold  by  weight  it  is  a  great 
hardship  to  require  the  receiver  to  stand  all  the  loss.  To  be  nearer  exact, 
the  difference  between  the  actual  weight  at  initial  point  and  actual  desti- 
nation weight  might  justly  be  divided  by  two,  and  freight  charges  col- 
fected  on  half  the  loss  of  shrinkage  in  transit.  But  if  there  is  loss  from 
shrinkage  through  delay  or  improper  handling,  of  course,  the  better  plan 
is  to  make  claim  for  loss  or  damage.  Many  people  in  the  trade  have  had 
no  end  of  trouble  on  this  matter  of  shrinkage  in  transit.  The  present 
system  of  handling  these  items  is  far  from  being  right. 

Nowadays  it  is  absolutely  essential  that  every  produce  dealer  make 
as  thorough  study  as  possible  of  transportation,  and  if  his  business  is 
sufficiently  large,  that  he  employ  a  trained  traffic  manager.  The  fact  that 
railroads  and  other  transportation  lines  are  not  now  bound  to  protect  any 
rate  except  that  in  their  published  tariff,  and  that  whoever  makes  a  slip 
on  a  lower  rate,  although  in  error,  on  the  presumption  that  he  has  au- 
thority for  the  lower  charge  than  the  published  rate,  puts  himself  in  a 
bad  way,  and  there  have  been  not  a  few  of  the  larger  operators  in  the 
produce  business  during  the  last  few  years  that  have  been  forced  to  burn 
quite  a  little  gray  matter  and  not  a  small  amount  of  money  in  settling  for 
freight  charges  that  they  thought  had  been  paid  and  forgotten. 

Reverting  to  the  subject  of  car  shortages  and  the  .inabilities  of  trans- 
portation lines  to  move  traffic  given  them,  I  want  to  say  that  there  are 
some  instances  where  numerous  dealers  and  shipping  organizations  have 
been  forced  to  take  losses  which  assume  proportions  that  ought  to  make  a 
man  think  and  think  hard  what  the  railroads  were  built  for. 

It  is,  indeed,  a  serious  matter  where  produce  people  have  shipments 
that  ought  to  be  moved,  and  who  may  be  getting  telegrams,  telephone 
messages  and  letters  every  hour  placing  orders  for  immediate  or  prompt 
shipment,  and  whose  salvation  may  depend  upon  reasonably  quick  action, 
and  who  are  in  many  cases  left  stranded  high  and  dry,  to  see  their 
prospective  profits  dwindle  and  disappear  because  the  goods  they  have 
to  offer  and  which  are  valuable,  are  deteriorating  for  being  held,  and 
because  the  markets  of  the  country  will  not  wait  on  the  slow  service  or 
no  service  of  the  railroads. 


TRANSPORTATION  51 

I  submit  they  have  a  complaint  to  make  against  the  transportation  in- 
terests which  should  be  thundered  from  the  housetops  and  emblazoned 
upon  the  sky.  I  am  opposed  to  yielding  to  any  such  puerile  arguments 
from  the  railroads  as,  "We  are  doing  the  best  we  can  to  take  care  of  the 
traffic/'  or  "the  business  is  growing  so  fast  we  are  unable  to  keep  up 
with  it." 

Such  disgusting  stuff  as  this  only  stimulates  a  feeling  becoming  more 
and  more  wide-spread  in  this  country  that  if  the  railroads  themselves, 
to  whom  the  public  has  made  many  concessions,  cannot  or  will  not  handle 
properly  the  business  they  are  supposed  to  conduct,  then  in  the  interest 
of  the  public  someone  else  should  undertake  to  see  that  the  business  is 
properly  conducted. 

I  think  everybody  of  ordinary  intelligence  must  agree  that  it  is  en- 
tirely feasible  and  highly  necessary  that  the  transportation  corporations 
be  forced  to  do  their  duty  to  the  country  which  has  done  so  much  for  them 
in  the  past.  It  is  really  amusing  to  hear  some  of  the  higher  railroad 
officials  talking  now  and  then  about  how  much  the  country  owes  the  rail- 
roads for  their  great  work  in  the  country's  development.  If  ever  the 
cart  was  put  before  the  horse  here  is  the  original  example. 

Surely  the  man  is  crazy  who  sincerely  believes  that  the  transportation 
lines  of  this  country  are  conducted  from  an  eleemosynary  standpoint.  I 
think  the  firm  conviction  is  widespread  that  when  the  transportation 
magnates  give  away  one  dollar  they  expect  two  or  more  in  return.  They 
have  apparently  operated  on  a  narrow,  selfish  and  penurious  plan  so  far 
as  their  general  attitude  towards  the  public  at  large  is  concerned. 
Haunted  by  the  constant  fear  of  increased  operating  expenses  and  drained 
of  their  revenues  because  of  the  infernal  watered  stock  representing 
fictitious  values  and  securities,  robbing  net  earnings  to  pay  dividends 
upon  them,  the  transportation  people  have  been  slow  to  provide  even  such 
equipment  as  is  necessary  and  essential  to  protect  human  life  among 
their  own  employes  or  among  the  passengers  they  haul  for  a  price. 

And  while  I  have  got  the  thought  in  mind  I  want  to  say  that  it  has 
become  far  too  common  to  see  a  big  headline  in  the  papers  telling  about 
numbers  of  people  being  killed  in  railroad  wrecks,  and  which  notices 
apparently  cause  little  more  than  passing  attention.  Why?  Is  it  because 
the  American  people  have  become  so  stolid  as  to  be  unmoved  when  their 
fellows  are  being  murdered  in  this  fashion?  Will  they  submit  tamely  to 
being  robbed  and  then  maimed,  sons  of  men  who  revolted  from  the 
tyranny  of  George  the  Third,  who  carved  an  empire  out  of  a  wilderness 
and  who  have  wrought  the  greatest  civilization  yet  recorded  in  the  annals 
of  history?  Will  they  submit  to  such  treatment,  I  ask,- without  a  protest 
that  will  become  a  revolution  itself  if  necessary  to  provide  a  remedy? 


52       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

I  am  talking  soberly,  and  I  want  it  plainly  understood  that  I  do  not 
pose  as  an  erratic  reformer.  But  I  desire  to  emphasize  more  strongly 
than  I  can  convey  by  language  the  fact  that  I  regard  the  men  who  are 
responsible  for  some  of  the  disgraceful  conditions  in  transportation 
affairs  of  this  country  as  being  more  despicable  than  the  poor  unfortunate 
who  hurls  bombs  for  revenge,  and  who  trys  to  wreak  vengeance  on 
crowned  heads.  I  think  no  argument  is  necessary  to  show  that  the  for- 
mer is  in  a  large  measure  responsible  for  the  latter. 

Human  life  and  property  are  valued  too  lightly  by  the  carriers  anyway ; 
if  I  have  any  influence  whatever  in  this  volume  I  trust  I  may  in  some 
small  measure  help  to  create  a  sentiment  that  will  overcome  this  re- 
grettable condition  in  our  country.  Perhaps  after  all  is  said  and  done 
the  railroads  and  other  transportation  lines  are  as  good  as  we  want  them 
to  be.  Let  us  hope  that  the  time  will  soon  come  when  the  pressure  of 
public  sentiment  will  demand  improvements  which  will  give  us  more  for 
our  money,  and  enable  us  to  travel  and  ship  in  greater  safety  and  more 
expeditiously  than  at  the  present  time. 

There  is  one  satisfaction  in  all  of  the  agitation  we  have  had  the  past 
few  years  regarding  transportation  reforms  and  that  is  some  reform 
has  been  accomplished,  and  it  should  be  remembered  that  reforms  never 
work  backward.  We  should  make  no  mistake  in  looking  forward  to  fur- 
ther improvements,  and  I  hazard  my  reputation  as  a  prophet  on  the  state- 
ment that  the  next  generation  will  insist  on  some  big  improvements  over 
what  we  have  tolerated  in  the  past. 

As  a  working  basis  for  future  improvement  I  incline  to  the  opinion  that 
it  will  be  highly  desirable  to  provide  such  means  as  will  best  impress 
upon  the  transportation  interests  that  they  owe  a  service  to  the  country, 
and  that  the  service  reasonably  due  must  be  properly  discharged  for  a 
fair  remuneration,  and  I  would  strongly  object  to  allowing  the  trans- 
portation interests  to  determine  solely  what  this  fair  remuneration  is  to 
be.  At  the  same  time,  I  want  it  clearly  understood  that  I  am  not  one  of 
those  who  would  ask  or  expect  the  railroads  or  express  companies  to  work 
at  a  loss.  In  other  words,  I  believe  that  their  rates  should  be  equitably 
arranged  so  that  the  proceeds  arising  from  their  operations  should  pay 
a  reasonable  return  on  the  capital  invested  in  the  different  properties, 
and  to  allow  for  the  depreciation  in  those  properties. 

The  questions  of  claims,  demurrage,  minimum  weights,  refrigeration 
and  even  the  question  of  speedy  transportation  itself,  are  all  subsidiary 
to  the  one  question  of  rates. 

I  confess  that  I  hold  no  brief  which  will  entitle  me  to  pose  as  an  ex- 
pert on  the  subject  of  rates,  but  at  the  same  time  I  regard  it  as 


TRANSPORTATION  53 

being  impossible  for  any  essential  regulation  of  railroad  rates  until  the 
federal  government  has  put  a  valuation  on  the  railroad  properties  them- 
selves,, and  by  this  means  establish  what  should  be  considered  a  fair  re- 
turn on  the  railroad  securities,  what  legitimate  operating  expenses  should 
be,  and  what  should  be  allowed  for  depreciation  of  the  properties. 

Then  and  not  until  then  will  it  be  possible  to  take  any  definite,  intel- 
ligent action  on  the  question  of  rates  which  have  been  figured  heretofore 
mostly  on  a  basis  of  what  the  traffic  will  bear,  and  in  many  cases  I 
regret  to  say,  more  than  the  traffic  of  the  produce  trade  will  bear  if  the 
business  is  to  be  profitably  continued. 

I  think  it  cannot  be  successfully  denied  that  the  system  of  rate  making 
in  the  past  has  been  very  arbitrary,  and  in  many  cases  unreasonable  and 
unjust  to  the  public  at  large;  if  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  it,  there 
are  some  instances  which  would  lead  one  to  suppose  that  the  produce 
trade  has  fared  much  worse  than  some  other  similar  lines  of  business 
when  the  matter  of  rates  was  being  handled. 

The  theory  that  rates  should  be  put  as  high  as  the  traffic  will  stand 
may  have  been  the  correct  view  during  the  days  of  Huntington,  but  such 
highway  robbery  will  not  square  with  modern  views  of  service.  Whether 
the  common  carriers  will  agree  or  not  it  remains  true  that  they  are  under 
some  obligations  to  the  people  who  place  traffic  in  their  hands  and  make 
possible  their  operation.  These  obligations  should  imply  something  more 
than  a  license  to  rob  and  steal  enough  from  the  public  to  pay  several 
times  over  the  actual  cost  of  traffic,  to  allow  for  proper  maintenance  and 
operation  and  also  to  provide  for  the  necessary  depreciation  in  property. 

To  say  the  least,  rate  making  heretofore  has  been  a  one-sided  proposi- 
tion. The  transportation  lines  simply  made  a  safe  guess  at  what  the 
rates  should  be,  always  figuring  in  every  contingency  against  losses  to 
themselves  in  the  way  of  claims,  for  overcharge  or  loss  and  damage;  the 
public  has  simply  paid  the  bills. 

There  are  scattering  instances  where  competition  has  had  a  wholesome 
effect  in  fixing  tariffs,  but  these  cases  are  rare  in  comparison  with  the 
sum  total  of  the  thousands  and  thousands  of  arbitrary  rates  that  are  like 
the  sands  of  the  sea. 

What  say  the  moguls  higher  up?     "We  must  protect  the  widows  and 
orphans  who  have  invested  their  savings  in  transportation  securities." 
•  Invested  in  what?     Perhaps  one  part  bona  fide  security  and  three  or 
four  parts  bona  fide  water. 

Where  did  this  water  come  from? 

Who  authorized  it? 

Is  it  legitimate? 


54,       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

Granting  for  the  sake  of  argument  that  the  widows  and  orphans  have 
invested  in  securities  that  are  not  securities,  it  seems  to  me  strange  logic 
to  argue  that  the  great  public  at  large  should  be  called  upon  to  contribute 
a  vast  sum  annually  which  in  the  aggregate  staggers  the  imagination,  to 
make  good  the  errors  of  judgment  in  these  widows  and  orphans  who  have 
been  so  unsophisticated  as  to  be  lured  into  the  sheep  fold  to  be  sheared 
like  so  many  lambs,  which  they  would  really  be  in  that  case,  because 
the  stock  jobbers  are  not  so  afflicted  with  the  blessed  fever  to  take  care 
of  the  widows  and  orphans  as  to  hand  over  to  them  any  water  to  quench 
their  thirst,  and  especially  the  water  that  might  fall  out  of  their  "blue 
sky." 

Very  true,  the  water  in  railway  securities  does  not  add  anything  to  the 
earning  power  of  the  actual  property  it  is  supposed  to  represent,  but  the 
use  of  water  in  stock- jobbing  was  long  ago  discovered  to  be  as  necessary 
for  these  purposes  as  in  the  every  day  affairs  of  life.  Of  course,  the  plea 
about  widows  and  orphans  has  been  exploded  long  ago,  and  I  only  refer 
to  it  here  in  lighter  vein. 

Where  water  does  positive  and  lasting  injury  to  the  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  the  country  and  to  the  produce  trade  is  in  the  matter  of  fixing 
rates.  There  are  no  authentic  figures  to  offset  the  claims  of  the  trans- 
portation people  as  to  the  actual  physical  valuation  of  their  property,  and 
since  some  valuation  must  be  had  as  a  basis  on  which  to  figure  rates  we 
find  we  are  confronted  with  the  real  difficulty  when  we  come  to  talk  intelli- 
gently on  the  subject,  especially  when  it  is  necessary  to  controvert  state- 
ments which  are  given  out  by  financiers  and  owners  of  railway  properties. 

The  Spokane  rate  case  heard  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  a 
few  years  ago  is  a  clear  case  in  point.  It  will  be  recalled  that  at  the 
Chicago  hearing  where  the  Spokane  rate  case  was  first  brought  up  the 
Great  Northern  Railway  company,  owned  by  James  J.  Hill  and  others, 
submitted  a  physical  valuation  of  its  properties  as  one  of  its  main  argu- 
ments why  the  then  existing  system  of  rates  should  not  be  disturbed. 

It  was  argued  at  length  by  the  railroad  attorneys  that  the  road  was 
under-capitalized,  and  that  its  present  system  of  rates  was  only  suffi- 
cient to  make  a  fair  showing  on  the  capital  invested  in  the  property. 
The  logical  inference  is  that  if  this  road  should  have  occasion  to  meet  a 
sudden  emergency  it  would  be  necessary  to  raise  instead  of  lower  its 
rates. 

And  who  could  say  them  nay? 

In  a  similar  inquiry  into  rates  of  the  Northern  Pacific  there  was  a 
similar  line  of  argument,  and  the  submitting  of  a  similar  physical  valu- 
ation of  property.  It  was  noteworthy  that  in  neither  case  was  there  a 


TRANSPORTATION  55 

searching  cross-examination  aimed  at  either  set  of  valuations,  and  the  tes- 
timony submitted  by  the  railroads  stands  so  far  absolutely  unrefuted. 

After  the  hearing  of  the  cases  referred  to  a  member  of  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission  is  said  to  have  asked  an  attorney  representing  the 
people  why  he  did  not  cross-examine  the  railroad  witnesses  on  the  valu- 
ation of  the  road  submitted  during  the  hearing. 

"For  the  reason  that  it  would  take  $100,000  and  more  than  a  year's 
work  for  me  to  make  such  a  valuation  of  the  properties  on  my  own 
authority  which  would  be  even  a  basis  for  an  intelligent  cross-examina- 
tion," he  replied. 

Right  here  is  the  real  trouble.  We  are  bound  to  rely  upon  the  rail- 
roads and  other  common  carriers,  as  the  matter  now  stands,  to  tell  us 
what  they  must  yield  in  revenue  to  sustain  themselves  and  to  earn  a  fair 
revenue  for  their  stockholders.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  a  federal  valuation 
of  railway  properties,  and  the  properties  of  common  carriers  generally, 
is  absolutely  essential  to  even  a  fair  start  at  equitable  rate  making. 

So  far  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  is  credited  with  only  a 
few  theoretical  principles  about  rate  making,  and  when  they  are  sub- 
merged with  figures  supposed  to  be  the  result  of  calculations  by  experts 
purporting  to  cover  a  great  railway  system,  the  commission  is  power- 
less to  deny  or  refute  their  correctness,  as  there  is  little  or  nothing  of  an 
authentic  nature  to  offer  in  lieu  of  the  figures  submitted  by  the  railroads 
themselves,  and  which  can  surely  be  relied  upon  as  being  high  enough 
and  too  high.  Here  is  where  watered  stock  serves  as  a  blind  that  works  a 
serious  hardship  on  the  general  public. 

Just  how  far  there  should  be  or  will  be  federal  intervention  in  rate 
making  in  the  future,  or  how  far  there  should  or  may  be  federal  inter- 
vention even  in  the  operation  or  the  ownership  of  common  carriers,  time 
alone  can  tell. 

But  if  intervention  should  come  who  would  be  directly  responsible  for 
it  but  the  railroads  themselves  ?  It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  aggravated 
features  that  have  arisen  in  the  past  and  are  still  "arising  from  time  to 
time  and  the  apparent  arbitrary  and  defiant  attitude  of  some  transporta- 
tion magnates  to  the  rights  of  the  public  in  the  matter  of  transporta- 
tion and  its  cost,  is,  indeed,  a  cause  for  grave  alarm. 

I  have  paid  close  attention  to  expressions  from  different  people  in  the 
trade  from  various  sections  of  the  country,  and  I  am  sure  the  prevailing 
and  overwhelming  sentiment  is  to  play  fair  with  all  transportation  lines, 
but  there  is  a  rigid  determination  to  make  the  transportation  lines  toe  the 
mark  themselves. 

Nobody  will  be  so  unreasonable  as  to  insist  upon  or  even  to  request 


56       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

the  railroads  or  other  common  carriers  to  do  business  at  a  loss  by  mak- 
ing rates  too  low.  But  at  the  same  time,  a  majority  of  the  business  people 
of  these  United  States  revolt  at  the  idea  of  being  forced  to  cough  up  on 
shipment  after  shipment,  to  pay  for  something  they  are  not  getting,  and 
in  settling  a  charge  they  have  no  voice  or  influence  in  making  as  has  been 
the  case  entirely  with  transportation  charges,  at  least  up  until  a  few 
years  ago,  and  still  is  to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent. 

It  is  nice  to  talk  about  the  people  having  the  privilege  of  not  paying 
rates  by  withholding  shipments  if  they  like,  but  the  folly  of  such  argu- 
ment is  too  evident  to  require  comment  in  this  connection.  The  public 
must  use  the  transportation  lines;  therefore,  the  rates  for  service  fur- 
nished must  be  made  reasonable,  and  the  less  arbitrary,  "public-be- 
damned"  arguments  given  out  by  the  plutocrats  and  moguls  higher  up 
the  better  for  all  concerned,  for  sometime  there  may  be  a  day  of  reckon- 
ing forced  upon  us,  and  it  may  be  when  the  people  are  in  a  bad  humor 
and  they  may  have  forgotten  the  American  spirit  which  prefers  to  be 
governed  by  reason  when  possible,  but  who  may  become  enraged  when 
they  see  and  know  their  rights  are  being  trampled  upon  and  to  realize 
they  have  no  redress  but  by  physical  force. 

Let  us  hope  that  proper  remedies  will  be  found  for  existing  evils  in 
transportation  matters  before  such  an  unfortunate  state  of  affairs  shall 
be  reached  in  this  country. 

And  it  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasized  that  the  public  "pays  the 
freight"  and  is  entitled  by  every  rule  of  justice  to  have  a  voice  in  the 
fixing  of  charges  imposed  by  the  transportation  lines  for  services  ren- 
dered. Of  course,  it  is  the  consumer  who  ultimately  suffers  from  ex- 
orbitant freight  rates  and  other  excessive  charges  made  for  transportation 
and  its  necessary  adjuncts.  But  the  grower,  the  shipper,  the  producer 
and  the  distributor  is  bound  to  feel  the  effects  of  exorbitant  or  ill-adjusted 
freight  rates  in  the  conduct  of  their  business. 

A  section  of  country  may  be  embarassed,  an  industry  may  be  crippled, 
a  market  may  be  ruined,  a  firm  or  individual  may  be  put  out  of  business, 
by  the  juggling  of  rates  and  by  other  manipulation  of  transportation 
charges  upon  which  the  whole  scheme  of  business  nowadays  must  rest. 
Beyond  doubt,  the  rates  charged  by  common  carriers  are,  as  a  general 
proposition,  too  high  so  far  as  produce  commodities  are  concerned,  and 
were  it  only  necessary  to  pay  dividends  on  a  capitalization  representing 
more  nearly  the  actual  value  of  the  railway  properties,  and  were  a  more 
economical  system  adopted  for  the  administration  of  transportation  mat- 
ters generally,  the  rates  could  be  reduced  below  the  present  level  and 
still  show  a  nice  legitimate  profit  to  the  owners  of  railway  securities 
based  upon  the  actual  valuation  of  physical  assets. 


TRANSPORTATION  57 

Does  it  require  the  application  of  higher  mathematics  to  prove  that  the 
money  which  is  going  to  pay  dividends  on  watered  and  fictitious  securi- 
ties is  no  more  or  less  than  stolen  from  the  general  public? 

I  am  fully  aware  that  we  are  dealing  with  generalities  in  this  con- 
nection so  far  as  the  actual  rates  themselves  are  concerned,  but  I  believe 
everyone  connected  indirectly  or  directly  with  the  produce  business  will 
bear  me  out  in  saying  that  watered  stocks  and  fictitious  securities  con- 
stitute a  real  menace  to  the  produce  trade  indirectly  and  to  the  general 
public  directly.  Fictitious  securities  mean  high  cost  for  transportation. 

An  excessive  rate  covering  a  given  commodity  is  a  sure  means  of 
stifling  the  demand  among  consumers  for  that  commodity  whatever  it  may 
be.  To  charge  75c  per  hundred  for  poultry,  butter  and  eggs  between 
Chicago  and  New  York,  and  at  the  same  time  allow  dressed  beef  to  move 
at  about  half  this  rate,  is  clearly  a  discrimination  in  favor  of  the  latter 
commodity  and  results  in  a  positive  disadvantage  to  the  former,  which 
surely  works  to  the  financial  loss  of  those  handling  dairy  products  both 
in  the  East  and  in  the  West.  Here  is  an  instance  where  the  traffic  is 
not  so  dissimilar  in  the  essentials  as  to  cause  the  wide  difference  in  the 
existing  rates.  Many  other  cases  might  be  cited  to  show  that  the  prod- 
uce trade,  because  of  the  lack  of  sympathy  and  co-operation  among  its 
various  interests,  has  frequently  got  the  worst  of  it  when  the  matter  of 
rate  making  was  being  attended  to. 

Again  it  is  clearly  a  check  on  the  fruit  industry  to  assess  outrageous 
refrigeration  charges.  It  will  be  recalled  that  there  was  a  round  of 
vehement  protests  a  few  years  ago  at  the  system  of  highway  robbery 
then  in  vogue  by  the  private  car  lines  which  amounted  to  making  ad- 
vance charges  several  times  over  the  actual  cost  of  the  ice  used,  and 
what  the  actual  service  amounted  to  plus  a  reasonable  profit.  Some  re- 
lief has  been  obtained  on  this  score,  however,  but  there  is  more  room 
for  common  sense  reform  in  the  matter  of  refrigeration. 

I  feel  justified  in  urging  that  this  phase  of  the  transportation  subject 
be  not  overlooked  and  that  the  trade  continue  its  efforts  for  better  re- 
frigeration at  more  reasonable  cost. 

In  a  number  of  jobbing  markets  serious  efforts  should  be  made  to  secure 
proper  refrigeration  for  less  than  carlot  shipments  from  the  jobbing  points 
to  the  smaller  towns,  and  also  to  insist  upon  having  schedules  as  often 
as  the  traffic  requires. 

It  is  also  worth  while  that  the  trade  see  to  it  that  such  measures  as 
are  necessary  be  put  into  effect  to  require  the  railroads  to  show  just 
what  amount  of  ice  has  been  used  when  an  expense  bill  is  rendered  for 
icing  with  freight  or  express  charges.  This  is  especially  desirable  when 


58  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

there  is  no  fixed  charge  for  refrigeration  from  initial  point  to  destination, 
and  in  all  cases  the  information  is  worth  obtaining  and  preserving  for 
the  handling  of  claims  and  for  other  purposes. 

Certainly  one  of  the  most  acute,  wide-spread  and  insidious  evils  in  the 
transportation  field  as  relates  to  the  produce  trade  has  been  with  the 
express  companies.  Little  appreciated  and  less  understood,  this  has  been 
a  graft, — a  plain  hold-up  in  many  cases — that  has  no  equal  in  the  annals 
of  traffic  in  this  country.  The  invasion  of  the  produce  field  by  the  ex- 
press people  through  their  order  and  commission  departments  is  one 
of  the  unwritten  chapters  of  the  old  days  when  a  charter  for  a  trans- 
portation agency  was  looked  upon,  at  least  by  some,  as  a  license  to  steal. 

The  scheme  of  having  an  express  agent  in  one  town  buy  or  sell  fruits 
and  produce  for  another  in  another  town,  allowing  a  divy  among  the 
agents  and  giving  the  company  a  haul,  was  one  of  the  most  complete 
plans  to  cripple  and  eventually  ruin  the  legitimate  produce  jobbing  busi- 
ness that  the  mind  of  man  has  yet  devised. 

Of  all  the  transportation  evils  none  has  been  more  flagrant  than  the 
treatment  of  the  fruit  and  produce  trade  at  the  hands  of  the  express  com- 
panies. Shipments  of  early  fruits  and  vegetables  from  Southern  points 
to  Northern  markets  have  been  handled  scandalously  in  a  number  of  in- 
stances season  after  season,  and  at  the  same  time  upon  a  series  of  rates 
that  almost  make  one  weep  to  look  at  them.  What  is  worse,  these  ship- 
ments have  been  tossed  around  by  some  of  the  express  people  about  like 
so  much  junk.  It  appears,  however,  that  a  few  of  the  express  officials  have 
had  a  kind  of  awakening  of  conscience,  and  I  sincerely  hope  a  change  of 
heart. 

But  the  express  people  can  render  even  better  service  than  they  are 
now  giving  both  as  to  the  running  time  and  the  transfers,  and  also  in 
the  matter  of  delivery  and  the  manner  in  which  their  employes  take 
care  of  shipments.  Some  of  them  have  yet  to  learn  that  perishable  fruits 
and  projjttclflfieed  extra  care,  and  when  extra  rates,  often  outrageously 
are  being' paid  for  their  carriage  I  believe  the  trade  is  justified  in 
emanding  and  insisting  upon  proper  treatment  so  far  as  service  is 
concerned. 

Whether  a  plan  will  ever  be  devised  to  drive  the  express  companies  out 
of  the  produce  business  is  a  matter  that  is  hard  to  predict.  Some  of  them 
have  said  that  they  would  discontinue  handling  fruits  and  produce  through 
their  agents,  but  it  seems  they  had  their  fingers  crossed  while  they  were 
talking  as  there  are  still  good  reasons  to  believe  that  they  are  doing  as 
much  business  now  as  they  ever  did.  To  say  the  least,  they  will  bear 
watching  and  unless  they  are  driven  out  of  the  business  it  is  doubtful 


TRANSPORTATION  59 

if  they  will  ever  relinquish  such  a  juicy  graft,,  and  one  which  they  can 
work  even  under  the  nose  of  a  crafty  produce  man  without  his  knowledge 
unless  he  is  a  good  detective  and  sits  up  nights. 

While  I  am  talking  about  these  express  matters  I  want  to  say  that 
it  is  not  too  much  to  hope  for  the  time  to  come  when  the  service  sup- 
posed to  be  rendered  by  the  express  companies  will  be  discharged  by  the 
railroads  themselves.  It  would  take  a  mind  more  analytical  than  the 
author's,  and  a  philosophy  more  erudite  than  he  shall  ever  dare  profess, 
to  define  precisely  what  the  line  of  demarcation  is  between  the  service 
rendered  by  railroads  and  express  companies,  and  to  show  that  the 
express  companies  have  any  real  excuse  for  a  separate  existence. 

But  so  long  as  the  two  forms  of  transportation  are  distinguishable  in 
practice  we  can  consider  the  express  evils  on  their  own  basis.  Obviously, 
their  solution  depends  upon  concerted  efforts  among  the  trade,  and  if 
there  are  no  laws  in  existence  now  which  are  sufficient  to  cope  with  this, 
as  well  as  other  transportation  evils,  it  is  up  to  the  produce  interests 
to  join  hands  with  others  who  are  similarly  afflicted  and  secure  such  legis- 
lation as  may  be  necessary  to  bring  relief. 

It  is  probably  a  bad  idea  to  look  for  a  panacea  for  transportation  ills 
and  evils  of  all  kinds  instead  of  trying  to  work  out  an  individual  remedy 
for  every  peculiar  ill  or  evil. 

Some  people  in  the  trade  have  been  so  unsophisticated  as  to  regard 
the  Hepburn  bill,  commonly  known  as  the  rate  law,  passed  by  Congress 
several  years  ago,  as  a  sort  of  cure-all.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this 
law  has  eliminated  certain  evils  and  cured  certain  defects,  but  it  is 
equally  certain  that  there  are  still  a  number  of  bad  things  in  traffic  which 
appear  to  have  escaped  its  operation  entirely.  No  doubt  this  new  law  is 
a  step  in  the  right  direction,  for  its  provisions  have  in  a  measure  put  a 
check  on  the  advantages  obtained  by  the  big  shippers  as  against  the  small 
shippers.  It  has  also  effectively  abolished  the  rebate  in  practice  as 
such,  and  has  given  the  authorities  a  better  chance  to  get  a  glimpse  at 
the  inner  workings  of  the  transportation  machine. 

But  I  contend  that  the  rate  law  cannot  by  any  means  be  considered 
a  panacea  for  traffic  abuses.  Further  legislation  both  as  relates  to  inter- 
state and  intrastate  traffic  will  no  doubt  have  to  be  secured  in  the  course 
of  the  next  few  years,  and  it  is  up  to  the  people  in  the  trade  to  do 
their  duty  and  aid  in  the  passing  of  such  laws  as  will  best  protect  their 
rights  and  their  property. 

Before  closing  this  chapter  I  want  to  say  a  few  words  on  behalf  of 
some  of  the  transportation  men, — that  is  the  minor  officials,  solicitors, 
clerks,  agents,  and  even  the  yard  men  and  train  crews  themselves  with 
which  the  trade  is  touching  elbows  and  meeting  every  day. 


60       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

Many  of  these  fellows  are  real  friends  of  reforms  which  they  are 
powerless  to  make.  These  solicitors  who  are  constantly  visible  on  the 
landscape  when  they  get  on  trail  of  some  traffic  are  hard  to  head  off  from 
the  man  who  has  the  routing  of  it.  They  are  as  numerous  as  the  sands 
of  the  sea,  and  they  seem  to  multiply  faster  than  any  other  species  of 
mankind  for  they  are  ever  increasing,  and  every  generation  of  them 
seems  to  possess  better  olfactories  with  which  to  smell  out  traffic  and 
each  succeeding  generation  also  seems  to  be  born  with  a  richer  fund  of 
stories. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the_kind  of  men  at  the  top  of  the  trans- 
portation business  are  not  the  same  kind  of  broad-gauge,  jovial,  fair- 
minded  fellows  we  usually  find  in  the  lower  walks  of  the  business.  There 
are  some  exceptions,  I  know,  in  both  divisions  but  there  are  few  among 
the  higher  officials  who  have  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  shipping 
public  as  is  the  case  with  the  men  you  generally  meet  in  the  lower  ranks. 


CHAPTER    VII 

CO-OPERATION 

The  present  age  is  one  of  co-operation  although  competition  is  not  yet 
eliminated  from  the  realm  of  commercial  affairs,  and  in  all  probability 
never  will  be.  But  it  is  true  that  the  benefits  of  co-operation  overbalance 
the  advantages  of  competition  in  a  majority  of  cases,  especially  when 
competition  is  no  more  than  a  jealous  contest. 

The  co-operative  idea  is  to  be  found  in  the  produce  trade  more  and 
more  every  year,  and  it  may  be  predicted  with  reasonable  certainty  that 
there  will  be  still  more  co-operation  as  its  benefits  become  better  under- 
stood. 

But  there  are  limitations  to  the  application  of  the  co-operative  prin- 
ciple as  it  relates  to  the  produce  business,  for  the  nature  of  the  busi- 
ness precludes  the  formation  of  such  a  thing  as  a  produce  trust,  which 
is  the  logical  point  or  the  ultimate  end  to  which  co-operation  tends, 
despite  the  fact  that  we  are  treated  to  a  lot  of  dope  in  the  papers  now 
and  then  about  a  trust  controlling  the  egg  market  or  a  combine  forcing 
apple  prices  up, — or  an  absolute  corner  in  Hubbard  squashes. 

Those  on  the  inside  know  the  futility  of  trying  to  form  or  operate  a 
produce  trust.  It  is  barely  possible  that  some  particular  commodity 
may  be  juggled  with  now  and  then,  but  it  is  written  in  the  history  of 
some  of  these  deals  that  fingers  have  been  burned,  and  losses  have  been 
incurred  that  almost  take  on  the  aspect  of  a  bear  raid  on  the  stock  ex- 
change when  panic  seizes  the  whole  speculating  fraternity  and  prices 
go  tumbling  like  so  much  lead. 

Possibly  the  main  reason  why  no  general  trust  can  be  formed  in  the 
produce  field  is  because  the  various  commodities  are  gathered  from  such 
a  widely  separated  territory,  and  because  the  articles  embraced  in  the 
business  are  produced  and  marketed  by  so  many  different  people  of  widely 
different  views  on  politics,  religion  and  business  itself,  that  it  is  next 
kin  to  impossible  for  a  trust  or  combine  to  be  formed  that  will  be  like 

61 


G2       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

the  steel  trust,  the  oil  trust  or  the  sugar  trust.  The  basic  idea  of  a 
trust  is  to  control  both  the  source  of  supply  and  the  means  of  distribu- 
tion. So  long  as  different  races,  conditions  and  classes  of  people  devote 
themselves  to  the  production  and  marketing  of  all  kinds  of  produce  it  is 
only  a  remote  possibility  that  a  produce  or  fruit  combination  resting  on 
the  co-operative  idea,  embracing  all  kinds  of  commodities,  will  ever  be 
put  into  practice  for  any  considerable  time. 

But  the  co-operative  principle  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  a  trust 
must  be  formed  to  enjoy  a  great  many  benefits  that  come  from  working 
together  among  the  various  branches  of  the  trade.  Growers  and  shippers 
may  form  associations,  and  associations  may  band  themselves  into  federa- 
tions for  the  purpose  of  lending  one  another  assistance  in  growing  and 
marketing,  and  secure  excellent  results  under  a  liberal  plan  of  allowing 
individuals  to  exercise  their  own  judgment  within  certain  limits.  Dealers 
and  jobbers  may  be  of  great  assistance  to  one  another  in  the  exchange  of 
information,  or  in  buying  and  selling  without  interfering  in  the  slightest 
with  one  another's  affairs,  and  without  putting  any  barriers  whatever  in 
the  way  of  free  trading. 

Co-operation,  is  the  very  essence  of  the  association  idea.  In  a  later 
chapter  I  shall  have  considerable  to  say  on  the  subject  of  associations; 
I  shall  point  out  some  of  their  benefits,  and  shall  try  to  show  some 
of  their  weaknesses  and  short  comings,  as  well  as  offer  some  suggestions 
for  their  proper  regulation. 

Ideal  co-operation  may  be  properly  said  to  rest  on  the  golden  rule. 
The  theory  is  very  pretty,  but,  its  application  in  every  day  practice  is 
often  extremely  difficult,  sometimes  utterly  impossible.  Selfishness  kills 
co-operation  just  as  Jack  Frost  plays  havoc  with  tender  vegetation.  Men 
who  allow  the  rim  of  the  dollar  to  obscure  their  horizon  so  completely 
as  to  shut  out  of  view  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  their  fellows, 
and  also  their  competitors,  can  hardly  be  expected  to  see  how  legitimate 
co-operation  is  a  panacea  for  some  commercial  disorders  and  a  relief 
for  nearly  all  economic  ills.  Those  men  who  doubt  the  benefits  of  correct 
co-operation  are  the  jay  birds  of  business  who  argue  that  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  music  and  then  sing  to  prove  it. 

A  line  such  as  the  produce  business,  so  fraught  with  ups  and  downs, 
so  punctuated  with  disappointments,  hard  knocks,  losses,  headaches  and 
heartaches,  should  be  full  of  co-operation  and  sympathy.  Instead  of  the 
glad  hand  and  a  word  of  encouragement,  a  fellow  playing  in  hard  luck 
generally  gets  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders  and  the  icy  stare  from  his  prod- 
uce competitors,  or  else  the  wretches  may  assume  a  grandiloquent  air, 
remain  absolutely  impassive  and  hand  the  poor  unfortunate  cuss  a  "lemon" 


CO-OPERATION  63 

when  he  may  be  sweating  blood  over  a  few  cars  of  these  sour  globules 
that  have  gone  off  a  dollar  a  box  as  the  weather  went  off  a  few  degrees. 

The  man  or  firm  who  gloats  over  their  competitors'  misfortunes  are 
simply  heathens  who  know  nothing  of  the  higher  philosophy  which  teaches 
the  brotherhood  of  mankind.  Unless  dealers,  growers,  shippers,  in  fact, 
everybody  in  the  trade  wishes  everyone  else  a  fair  measure  of  success 
and  prosperity,  they  are  a  menace  to  the  trade  and  are  hardly  entitled  to 
the  measly  dollars  they  pile  up  and  thus  contaminate  with  their  very 
touch.  There  is  business  enough  for  everybody  so  long  as  everybody 
is  decent,  plays  fair  and  plugs  hard. 

Pray  do  not  think  I  am  purposely  digressing  for  I  am  only  emphasizing 
the  desirability  of  sensible  co-operation  by  presenting  its  contrary, — in- 
sane competition.  Because  some  other  association  winds  up  the  season 
with  better  profits  than  another,  because  some  other  commission  man 
lands  a  big  contract  that  another  was  trying  to  land,  or  because  some 
competitor  secures  a  big  order  others  were  figuring  on,  or  catches  one 
of  your  old  customers,  what  is  the  use  of  making  faces  ?  Cheer  up !  In 
the  language  of  the  immortal  poet  "forget  it." 

The  other  association  has  no  patent  on  its  system;  you  should  have 
no  fly  specks  on  yours ;  you  dyspeptic,  old  grouch  of  a  dealer,  do  you  not 
realize  that  you  have  no  mortgage  on  the  buying  or  selling  ends  of  a 
majority  of  your  trade,  that  it  is  perhaps  best  to  swap  around  occa- 
sionally, that  you  probably  had  it  coming  to  you  to  lose  part  of  your 
trade  just  to  remind  you  that  your  customer  and  your  competitor  are  in 
the  same  "swimming  hole"  with  you  and  they  are  using  the  same  "spring 
board"  that  you  are  trying  to  hog  for  yourself,  but  which  belongs  to  all 
the  "boys."  Just  remember  you  had  to  get  your  trade  away  from  some- 
body once  upon  a  time. 

Co-operation  means  not  only  to  live  and  let  live,  but  it  carries  an 
injunction  to  help  the  other  fellow  live.  I  am  not  writing  after  returning 
from  preaching,  nor  am  I  putting  it  on  paper  because  it  reads  nicely,  but 
I  am  trying  to  impress  it  upon  you  that  by  helping  others  you  help  your- 
self. The  effort  is  worth  while  to  promote  good  cheer  in  the  trade,  and  to 
insure  peace  and  progress  among  your  fellows. 

It  is  quite  true  that  co-operation  as  applied  to  produce  matters  has 
an  infinite  range,  extending  all  the  way  from  the  friendly  word  of  en- 
couragement to  the  investment  of  a  large  part  of  your  capital  in  a  deal 
where  you  depend  largely  upon  your  judgment  and  the  honesty  of  your 
associates  who  may  be  in  a  sense  your  competitors,  maybe  your  saviors 
in  a  business  way. 

I   suppose  it   will  not  be   startling  news  to   some   that   a    number  of 


64,       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

produce  people  have  become  sufficiently  civilized  to  join  hands  in  lots  of 
deals,  although  they  may  be  engaged  in  a  continual  friendly  contest  over 
certain  other  trade  affairs.  In  the  matter  of  cutting  down  expenses  in  buy- 
ing or  soliciting  the  plan  often  works  like  a  charm,  especially  where  houses 
in  different  markets  get  together  on  the  scheme,  and  where  everybody 
knows  what  he  is  expected  to  do  and  what  he  must  do  if  he  stays  in  the 
"life  boat."  Shippers  who  are  consigning  cars  to  the  same  market  find  it 
possible  to  have  a  man  or  several  men  as  occasion  requires  to  look  after 
shipments  when  they  arrive  at  destination,  and  even  while  they  are  in 
transit.  It  would  be  impossible  for  the  individual  shipper  to  undertake 
such  a  scheme  unless  his  operations  were  far  in  excess  of  the  average. 

An  excellent  idea  of  the  positive  and  lasting  good  coming  from  the 
right  kind  of  co-operation  may  be  found  in  the  National  League  of  Com- 
mission Merchants,  the  Western  Fruit  Jobbers  Association,  the  Inter- 
national Apple  Shippers  Association,  the  various  local  exchanges  in 
different  markets,  the  hundreds  of  associations  for  the  marketing  of  fruits, 
vegetables  and  produce  throughout  the  country,  and  also  in  the  various 
clubs  among  produce  people  which  are  really  helpful  to  their  members. 

These  organizations  wield  a  tremendous  moral  as  well  as  political 
power,  besides  exerting  a  beneficent  influence  upon  their  members  in  many 
respects.  The  sum  total  of  their  operations  has  been  to  secure  improved 
conditions  in  the  trade,  to  disseminate  valuable  information,  to  help  pre- 
vent losses  in  business,  to  provide  improved  methods  of  trading,  to 
discover  and  develop  new  markets,  to  get  the  best  results  in  grading  and 
packing,  to  work  for  the  passage  of  good  laws,  to  control  arid  remedy 
transportation  abuses,  etc.,  etc.,  in  short,  to  do  a  hundred  and  one  things 
that  cannot  be  done  well,  if  at  all,  where  individuals  or  firms  are  working 
separately  and  independently ;  and  last  but  not  least,  to  promote  a  fra- 
ternal feeling  among  the  trade  and  convince  the  men  engaged  in  the 
business  that  they  are  not  living  for  themselves  alone,  and  that  the  full- 
est measure  of  success  means  that  a  broad,  sensible  course  must  be 
adopted  and  followed  always  by  everybody  in  the  trade  if  his  influence 
is  to  be  worth  while  and  if  his  success  is  to  be  real  and  lasting. 

If  reasonable  concerted  effort  is  made  along  the  right  lines  the  results 
obtained  are  often  wonderful.  Two  firms  or  individuals  can  co-operate 
just  as  they  can  compete.  The  same  applies  to  a  hundred  or  a  thousand. 
But  they  must  be  honest,  have  confidence  in  one  another,  and  must  have 
a  correct  system  of  trading,  and  besides  be  aggressive  if  the  plan  of 
co-operation  is  to  succeed. 

As  pretty  as  the  theory  of  co-operation  is,  and  as  nicely  as  the  scheme 
works  if  properly  planned  and  pushed,  still  if  it  is  carried  too  far  it 
usually  produces  atrophy  instead  of  action,  weakness  instead  of  strength. 


CO-OPERATION  65 

There  is  always  the  danger  of  putting  a  bar  on  individual  effort  which 
is  the  essential  factor  in  achieving  the,  highest  success  in  modern  busi- 
ness just  as  it  is  true  in  our  system  of  government  that  the  individual 
is  intended  to  be  left  with  as  much  freedom  of  action  as  possible,  although 
the  chief  idea  of  a  democracy  is  that  we  shall  help  bear  one  another's 
burdens  and  especially  that  the  strong  shall  help  the  weak.  This  applies 
to  all  broad  matters  bearing  on  the  common  good. 

The  seeming  conflict  with  the  co-operative  idea  is  explained  by  allow- 
ing everyone  to  perform  such  matters  alone  if  he  can  best  attend  to 
them  in  that  way,,  and  to  join  hands  and  hearts  with  others  when  occasion 
demands,  and  to  continue  the  joint  operation  so  long  as  common  sense  or 
the  circumstances  may  require.  I  know  there  is  such  a  thing  as  co- 
operation gone  wild  just  as  there  is  competition  gone  wild,  and  I  shall 
have  more  to  say  on  this  subject  later  on. 

Above  all,  we  must  recognize  common  sense  as  a  guide.  Do  not  under- 
take to  make  the  co-operative  idea  do  the  impossible,  nor  perform  for  you 
what  you  could  and  should  do  on  your  own  account. 

The  co-operative  idea  can  easily  be  ridden  to  death  like  a  willing 
horse. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

ASSOCIATIONS  AND  INDIVIDUALS 

Whatever  else  may  be  said  on  the  subject  of  associations  it  remains 
clear  that  the  plan  involves  a  system.  Where  several  score  or  several 
hundred  individual  growers  or  producers  unite  in  marketing  their  fruits 
or  produce  through  a  centralized  agency  a  big  advantage  should  result 
in  the  cutting  down  of  overhead  expenses,  and  under  an  economical  ad- 
ministration the  cost  of  marketing  is  reduced  to  the  minimum. 

Again,  in  the  matter  of  turning  out  the  best  grade  and  pack  the  asso- 
ciation plan  makes  it  possible  to  obtain  the  best  and  most  experienced 
help  which  may  cost  considerably  more  than  an  individual  would  care 
to  spend  unless  he  conducted  an  extensive  business.  Moreover,  in  the 
matter  of  selling  the  centralized  plan  whereby  all  orders  are  booked 
through  one  office  and  all  shipments  and  deliveries  are  kept  track 
of,  and  whereby  transportation  is  made  a  specialty,  there  is  no  doubt  but 
the  association  plan  is  to  be  soundly  endorsed. 

I  think  there  is  little  question  but  that  the  general  benefits  from  co- 
operation justify  growers  and  shippers  in  forming  such  organizations 
as  may  seem  necessary  to  accomplish  certain  ends. 

Naturally,  the  main  difficulty  with  the  association  system  is  to  find 
competent,  honest  men  to  take  charge  of  the  business  and  handle  it 
properly. 

The  very  best  system  in  the  hands  of  the  wrong  kind  of  men  over- 
balances the  benefits  from  co-operation.  There  have  been  numerous 
instances  of  plain  graft  among  association  officials  in  the  past,  and  it 
seems  there  is  no  way  of  preventing  certain  irregularities  except  by 
finding  the  right  men  and  paying  a  sufficient  price  for  their  services  to 
place  them  beyond  the  influence  of  "easy  money"  which  may  be  handed 
to  them  by  various  interests  for  doing  or.  not  doing  certain  things  in 
a  particular  way. 

It  would  be  unfair,  I  know,  to  the  honest  officials  for  the  author  to 

66 


ASSOCIATIONS  AND  INDIVIDUALS  67 

make  this  statement  so  broad  as  to  include  all  officials,  for  there  is  no 
doubt  but  the  average  officials  of  associations  handling  fruits  and  produce 
are  good  business  men  who  are  known  to  have  characters  above  reproach ; 
they  have  generally  secured  fine  results  for  growers  and  shippers  and 
most  of  them  are  entitled  to  more  money  for  their  services  than  they  are 
accustomed  to  receive. 

But  I  cannot  refrain  from  laying  stress  on  the  importance  of  growers 
and  shippers  keeping  their  eyes  wide  open  if  there  is  cause  for  suspicion 
that  their  interests  are  not  being  properly  served,  although  when  they 
strike  a  bad  season  or  have  an  unprofitable  deal  it  is  unwise  as  well  as 
unjust  to  conclude  that  the  trouble  lies  with  their  association  manage- 
ment until  they  have  made  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  facts  involved, 
and  have  conferred  with  other  members  of  the  association  on  the  subject. 

Dishonesty,  like  murder,  will  out.  A  crafty  individual  may  ingratiate 
himself  in  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  growers  so  that  he  literally  has 
them  wrapped  around  his  finger,  and  although  he  may  be  making  them 
money  every  year,  he  may  also  be  receiving  rebates,  rake-offs  or  other 
forms  of  graft  that  will  ultimately  make  him  rich  beyond  the  dreams  of 
avarice.  The  author  hopes  that  the  honest  element,  which  predominates 
among  association  officials,  will  only  consider  these  statements  in  the  spirit 
in  which  they  are  intended.  He  who  strives  to  discharge  his  obligations 
faithfully  and  intelligently,  although  he  may  suffer  frequent  reverses,  will 
have  the  support  and  sympathy  of  his  fellow  men  provided  they  have 
reasonable  assurance  that  he  is  doing  the  best  he  can  and  that  possibly 
the  same  results  would  accrue  under  the  direction  of  any  other  individual 
who  might  be  selected  to  take  his  place. 

With  reference  to  the  duties  of  an  association  manager  the  following 
may  be  said  to  be  true: 

The  work  of  a  manager  is  a  very  complicated  piece  of  business.  It 
taxes  his  ingenuity  to  the  limit  to  execute  it  with  credit  and  satisfaction. 
It  is  a  business  that  requires  experience.  It  properly  belongs  to  an  ex- 
pert, a  tactician,  a  diplomat.  The  intricacies  of  the  business  can  not  be 
learned  and  mastered  in  a  single  season.  If,  after  a  manager  has  ex- 
hausted all  his  skill,  all  his  tactics,  all  his  schemes  of  diplomacy,  all  his 
power  of  manipulation,  all  his  strength  of  thought  and  energy  of  action, 
he  does  not  overcome  his  difficulties  and  please  his  people,  he  may  at  least 
comfort  himself  with  the  hope  that  in  spite  of  these  things  he  may  yet 
enter  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  for  they  who  enter  there  are  said  to  come 
up  out  of  great  tribulations. 

We  read  in  sacred  story  of  a  wonderful  fruit  land  in  a  distant  country 
whence,  because  they  are  so  well  pleased,  no  traveler' e'er  returns.  In 


68       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

that  land  the  orchards  are  planted  in  the  fertile  valleys  close  beside  the 
living  streams  that  unceasingly  flow  from  the  everlasting  hills.  The 
orchards  are  irrigated  and  cultivated  without  toil  and  without  expense, 
and  they  flourish  so  richly  that  the  trees  never  wither  and  the  branches 
never  perish.  The  trees  bear  not  a  single  variety  of  fruit  but  twelve, 
each  ripening  in  its  month,  so  that  the  fruit  is  always  fresh  and  the 
supply  is  always  full.  The  fruit  is  faultless,  perfect  in  form  and  size, 
glorious  in  color  and  exquisite  in  flavor.  No  sting  of  curculio  is  seen, 
no  speck  of  fungus  fever,  no  ugly  wiggling  worm.  Moreover,  the  crops 
are  abundant.  There  is  enough  for  all.  And  the  fruit  is  free,  alike  to 
rich  and  poor.  It  may  be  purchased  without  money  and  without  price. 
There  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling  and  the  weary  managers  are  at 
rest,  for  trials  and  difficulties  are  no  more. 

There  has  been  more  or  less  controversy  over  the  question  of  pooling 
among  growers  and  shippers  and  the  subject  still  seems  to  rest  on  de- 
batable ground,  although  there  appears  to  be  ample  experience  to  sustain 
the  pooling  system  as  being  legitimate  and  correct. 

When  contracts  are  made  by  an  association  with  an  individual  to  mar- 
ket certain  commodities  through  the  association  under  certain  conditions, 
it  seems  no  more  than  reasonable  and  right  that  both  parties  to  the  con- 
tract make  a  faithful  endeavor  to  discharge  their  obligations  under  the 
terms  of  their  contract  or  agreement.  Too  often  growers  and  shippers 
get  the  idea  that  they  can  squirm  out  of  their  contracts  with  impunity  and 
seem  to  forget  that  they  are  duty-bound  to  stick  up  to  their  agreements 
for  the  mutual  protection  of  themselves  and  neighbors.  Nearly  every  sea- 
son there  is  more  or  less  trouble  with  associations  all  over  the  country 
when  a  few  members  decide  to  pull  out  and  market  their  products  inde- 
pendently after  they  have  entered  into  a  hard  and  fast  contract  to  ship  or 
sell  through  an  association. 

Numerous  cases  involving  disputes  over  the  rights  of  the  grower  or 
shipper  in  matters  of  this  kind  have  found  their  way  into  the  courts,  and 
in  a  majority  of  cases,  unless  there  are  extenuating  circumstances,  the 
courts  have  held  that  when  growers  pool  their  interests  they  are  bound  to 
market  their  goods  as  their  contracts  provide.  This  is  the  only  common 
sense  view  to  take,  for  if  one  grower  or  shipper  has  the  right  to  pull  out 
of  an  association  after  he  has  become  a  member  and  agreed  to  abide  by 
its  general  regulations,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  second  or  third  or  even 
all  of  the  growers  would  not  also  have  the  right  to  withdraw,  and  com- 
pletely disrupt  the  best  organized  and  best  operated  association  in  the 
country. 

Those  growers  or  shippers  who  may  have  any  reasonable  doubt  about 


ASSOCIATIONS  AND  INDIVIDUALS  69 

the  advantages  of  joining  an  association  and  who  do  not  feel  sure  they 
can  execute  its  general  orders  and  fulfill  whatever  contract  they  enter 
into  with  the  association  would  better  not  join  in  the  first  instance.  Some 
men  in  nearly  every  organization  seem  to  be  gifted  principally  with 
making  trouble,  and  the  quicker  such  men  are  thrown  overboard,,  if  they 
cannot  be  controlled,  the  better  for  all  parties  concerned. 

Now  and  then  members  of  associations,  as  well  as  some  people  in  the 
trade  generally,  are  unreasonable  in  their  demands  and  expect  too  much 
of  the  association  plan.  The  grower  or  shipper  who  joins  an  organiza- 
tion which  is  devoted  to  the  growing  or  the  marketing  of  fruits  and  prod- 
uce should  not  expect  the  organization  to  perform  miracles.  After  all, 
the  best  organization  represents  so  many  individual  units  as  are  em- 
braced in  its  membership  and  its  official  staff. 

However  complete  the  organization  may  be,  however  superb  the  talent 
it  may  employ  to  do  its  thinking  and  marketing,  there  are  lots  of  things 
it  cannot  accomplish,  although  there  are  many  things  it  can  and  may  ac- 
complish. For  example,  unless  every  individual  grower  observes  the  reg- 
ulations covering  grading  and  packing  it  is  certain  that  his  fruits  or 
products  will  give  trouble. 

The  success  or  failure  of  an  association  depends  almost  entirely  on  the 
class  of  goods  it  has  to  market  and  the  way  those  goods  are  prepared  and 
handled  from  the  time  they  leave  the  points  of  origin  until  they  reach 
the  consumer,  and  I  think  it  unnecessary  to  spend  more  time  trying  to 
make  it  clear  that  the  individual  who  is  a  member  of  an  association  should 
not  depend  upon  the  organization  to  do  all  of  his  thinking,  nor  should 
he  try  to  force  the  organization  to  perform  unreasonable  feats  such  as 
getting  the  highest  market  prices  for  inferior,  off  grade  fruits  and 
produce. 

Very  likely  it  is  true  that  because  the  centralized  co-operative  plan 
succeeds  in  making  money  by  saving  money  on  marketing  a  certain  com- 
modity, or  if  there  is  a  special  run  of  good  luck  in  a  given  season,  it  nat- 
urally gives  rise  to  a  degree  of  reliance  upon  the  organization  for  making 
good  always  thereafter  in  marketing  nearly  every  commodity  or  in  any 
other  matter.  And  if  the  most  sanguine  expectations  are  not  realized 
there  may  be  trouble  to  follow. 

It  is  a  question  if  it  is  not  a  mixed  blessing  when  officials,  and  the  man- 
agement of  such  organizations  generally,  are  constantly  striving  for  rec- 
ord breaking  deals  in  the  way  of  season's  profits.  By  this  I  mean  to  say, 
when  high  prices  are  obtained  for  oranges  this  year,  which  may  be  due  to 
extraordinary  conditions,  the  returns  next  year,  probably  with  an  entirely 
different  set  of  conditions,  may  be  lower  but  may  represent  even  greater 


70  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

skill  in  handling  than  the  previous  season.  But  now  and  then  the  man- 
agements of  different  organizations  get  the  riot  act  read  to  them  for  no 
other  reason,  and  they  are  confronted  with  dismissal  or  embarrassment 
because  they  did  not  set  a  new  record  above  their  predecessors  which 
record  was  possibly  accidental,  wholly  or  in  part. 

It  is  usually  best  for  officials  to  promise  little  beyond  faithful,  honest 
services  and  guarantee  nothing  in  the  way  of  returns  but  the  best  average 
the  goods  to  be  sold  will  obtain. 

No  man  should  allow  himself  to  become  an  association  official  or  to  be- 
come identified  with  the  management  of  an  organization  of  this  kind 
unless  he  has  the  confidence  of  his  constituents  and  also  has  a  full  grasp 
of  the  duties  he  is  expected  to  perform.  He  should  strive  diligently  to 
see  that  full  justice  is  done  to  everybody,  and  if  it  bankrupts  the  organi- 
zation he  should  strive  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  his  association,  and 
maintain  its  reputation  for  straightforward  dealing  and  for  fulfilling  its 
contracts.  If  certain  goods  have  been  sold  for  future  delivery  and  if  the 
market  goes  higher  and  better  prices  can  be  realized  by  jumping  con- 
tracts, the  honest  official  will  see  that  the  tricky  member  is  compelled  to 
toe  the  mark.  Those  officials  who  are  lax  in  this  respect  and  allow  such 
business  will  bear  watching  among  the  growers  and  shippers  themselves. 
The  only  man  worth  while  tying  to  in  the  business  world  is  the  fellow 
who  is  honest  in  all  things  and  who  will  insist  that  his  own  people  play 
fair  if  they  are  going  to  expect  others  to  do  so. 

Good  judgment  should  be  used,  of  course,  in  the  matter  of  making  con- 
tracts, securing  advances,  etc.,  as  in  all  things  else  pertaining  to  the  man- 
agement of  an  association.  A  careful  survey  should  be  made  and  the 
conditions  should  be  sized  up  as  well  as  possible.  Sometimes,  and  for 
some  classes  of  fruits  and  vegetables  especially,  arrangements  are  made 
for  marketing  long  before  the  goods  are  ready  for  shipment.  In  such 
cases  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  say  what  the  future  has  in  store  and  it  is 
purely  in  the  light  of  past  experience  and  the  prospects  ahead  that  con- 
tracts or  promises  are  made. 

In  all  cases  it  is  the  best  plan  to  connect  with  reliable  commission  men 
or  marketing  agents,  and  lay  plans  well  in  advance  for  distributing  the 
products  in  prospect.  Every  detail  should  be  carefully  arranged  and 
everybody  should  know  what  he  is  expected  to  do  and  when  it  is  to  be 
done.  Packages  should  be  provided  and  transportation  facilities  and 
requirements  looked  into,  and  every  other  matter  settled  so  far  as  can  be. 

Another  thing  that  is  highly  important  is  the  subject  of  properly  ad- 
vertising whatever  products  are  to  be  grown  and  marketed.  Whenever 
possible  the  quantity  to  be  shipped,  the  grade,  pack,  brands  or  marks 


ASSOCIATIONS  AND  INDIVIDUALS  71 

should  be  published  to  the  world,  but  since  the  whole  world  cannot  be 
reached  it  is  well  to  try  to  reach  that  highly  important  part  known  as  the 
trade,  and  which  is  the  essential  part  to  make  the  proper  plea  before,  for 
the  public  uses  what  goods  are  put  up  and  offered  for  sale  and  the  average 
consumer  has  no  idea  whatever  about  who  grows  or  ships  what  he  buys 
daily  in  the  different  markets. 

But  the  trade  is  watching  and  keeping  up  with  such  matters  and  if  the 
individual  or  the  association  has  an  article  of  quality  that  can  be  had  at 
the  right  price  it  will  be  sought  after  if  it  is  well  known. 

To  make  it  known  is  to  advertise  it.  But  publicity  costs  money  and 
the  association  or  individual  should  not  object  to  spending  a  reason- 
able sum  for  advertising  in  different  publications,  and  in  other  ways 
to  make  the  correct  impression  on  the  trade  that  is  expected  to  serve 
the  goods  out  to  the  general  public. 

It  is  well  enough  to  have  growers'  names  on  wrappers,  baskets,  boxes, 
or  barrels  so  as  to  reach  the  consumer  direct,  or  even  to  set  aside  an 
appropriation  for  use  in  a  general  campaign  of  publicity  calling  attention 
of  the  public  to  certain  merits  of  certain  products.  But  usually  such 
publicity  comes  high  and  is  hardly  so  effective  as  that  which  appeals 
directly  to  the  trade,  for  it  is  here  the  test  of  merit  must  be  made.  It 
does  little  good  for  one  to  claim  that  "Such  and  Such"  grapes  grown 
by  "So  and  So"  are  the  best  to  be  had  and  go  to  the  consumer  with 
such  argument,  if  the  aforesaid  consumer  can  find  out  even  from  the 
despised  huckster  that  "Such  and  Such"  grapes  are  inferior  to  "This 
and  That"  grapes,  and  what  is  worse  he  may  produce  the  "deadly  paral- 
lel" by  exhibiting  some  of  both  kinds. 

By  all  means  growers  should  strive  to  produce  quality,  to  give  honest 
goods  and  honest  pack  and  weight  for  honest  money,  and  let  the  trade 
know  about  it.  It  is  no  use  trying  to  fool  men  who  know  more  about 
the  subject  under  treatment  than  you  do. 

What  has  been  said  in  regard  to  associations  applies  also  to  individ- 
uals. After  all,  the  association  is  only  an  aggregation  of  individuals 
and  what  is  good  for  one  is  good  for  the  other  and  vice  versa.  But 
there  are  cases  where  the  individual  possesses  advantages  over  and  above 
the  association  and  this  is  especially  true  of  certain  articles  in  certain 
seasons. 

Roughly  speaking,  the  association  represents  wholesale  dealing ;  the 
individual  retail.  The  one  is  co-operative  and  liberal ;  the  other  is 
monopolistic  and  selfish.  Varying  circumstances  justify  both  systems  in 
marketing,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  individual  who  has  some- 
thing to  put  on  the  market,  and  if  he  knows  the  ropes  thoroughly  can 


72       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

save  himself  the  extra  pains  and  expense  involved  in  marketing  through 
an  association  by  attending  to  his  own  business.  Every  grower  or  ship- 
per must  be  his  own  judge  of  certain  matters,  even  when  an  association 
is  available  and  he  is  a  member,  provided  he  keeps  his  pledges  as  to 
marketing. 

Some  articles  in  the  fruit  and  produce  line  are  almost  impossible  of 
being  successfully  handled  through  an  association.  This  is  especially 
true  of  northern  staples  such  as  potatoes,  onions,  cabbage,  etc.,  which 
are  handled  through  a  long  season  and  which  at  times  become  very  specu- 
lative. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  associations,  or  for  that  matter,  any  co-oper- 
ative organization  is  unfitted  for  speculation.  Such  organizations  are 
good  at  making  money,  but  are  usually  hard  losers.  Officers  of  asso- 
ciations know  what  it  means  to  fail  to  take  advantage  of  the  market, 
although  it  may  be  beyond  human  ken  to  say  what  the  advantage  of 
the  market  is  until  it  is  past  and  gone.  Here  is  a  case  where  the  in- 
dividual has  a  great  advantage  over  the  association  and  there  is  no  way 
to  offset  that  advantage,  as  the  individual  who  possesses  enough  fore- 
sight to  be  a  good  speculator  for  himself  generally  has  enough  sense  to 
be  his  own  beneficiary  and  to  limit  his  operations  to  his  own  investments. 
After  all,  an  association  is  intended  mainly  to  market  fruits  and  produce 
and  not  for  speculative  purposes,  although  it  may  be  the  creature  of 
circumstance  and  may  be  forced  into  speculation  to  a  greater  or  lesser 
degree.  On  the  contrary,  the  individual  needs  only  the  opportunity  to 
make  him  become  a  speculator,  and  he  has  no  one  but  himself  to  account 
to  if  he  should  lose  out. 

Among  the  disadvantages  of  an  association  is  the  red  tape  and  the 
awkwardness  in  the  management  of  a  big  organization.  If  a  change  of 
policy  is  necessary  it  takes  a  great  deal  more  effort  usually  to  make  such 
changes  than  is  necessary  when  an  individual  desires  to  make  them. 

The  author  has  been  asked  again  and  again  for  an  opinion  as  to  when 
it  is  worth  while  to  form  an  association  and  how  many  members  there 
should  be.  To  all  such  inquiries  he  would  reply:  No  fixed  rule  can  be 
established.  Perhaps  all  those  who  feel  disposed  should  join  associa- 
tions if  they  are  in  reach  of  one,  and  associations  should  be  organized 
where  there  are  enough  growers  or  shippers,  or  enough  of  either  or  both 
who  feel  that  their  interests  can  be  served  best  by  an  organization.  An 
association  can  be  incorporated  with  little  expense,  or  it  may  be  loosely 
organized  in  the  shape  of  a  society;  it  may  have  a  rigid  contract  with 
all  members  or  it  may  be  so  liberal  as  to  allow  individual  members  to 
do  as  they  please  so  long  as  certain  lines  are  not  transgressed. 


ASSOCIATIONS  AND  INDIVIDUALS  73 

It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  go  into  a  minute  discussion  of  associa- 
tion management  for  such  is  purely  detail,  and  anything  of  this  char- 
acter would  be  subject  to  exceptions  which  would  possibly  be  of  no  use 
to  a  majority  of  organizations. 

This  much  I  will  say,  however:  All  associations  should  be  run  on  a 
broad  gauge  system  and  so  far  as  possible  should  not  conflict  with 
natural  rights  or  individual  effort  and  initiative.  By  no  means  should 
red  tape  and  parliamentary  practice  take  the  place  of  common  sense 
and  the  fraternal  spirit  so  necessary  to  make  any  organization  a  success. 

The  association  should  recognize  its  limitations  and  never  undertake 
the  impossible.  Because  it  can  do  one  thing  well  is  no  proof  that  it  can 
do  all  things  well,  and  it  should,  therefore,  be  held  to  its  original  pur- 
pose and  its  members  and  officials  should  strive  always  to  make  the  or- 
ganization beneficial,  instructive  and  elevating  to  the  community,  the 
trade  and  to  the  whole  country.  Neither  the  association  nor  the  individ- 
ual grower  can  evade  the  great  law  of  service,  and  it  is  to  accomplish  a 
more  effective  service  in  an  organized  capacity  that  any  association  should 
be  formed. 

For  the  benefit  of  growers  in  many  localities  I  have  thought  it  may 
be  well  to  include  in  full  the  articles  pertaining  to  the  organization  and 
management  of  an  association,  it  being  substantially  the  same  as  the 
constitution  and  by-laws  of  one  of  the  leading  fruit  growers'  organiza- 
tions in  the  southwest.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  for 
various  reasons  the  articles  I  suggest  as  a  pattern  may  have  to  be  varied 
considerably  to  coyer  certain  peculiarities  in  some  other  organization 
designed  for  some  other  purpose  than  the  handling  of  fruits.  The  serv- 
ices of  a  good  lawyer  should  be  sought  if  necessary  to  get  an  organiza- 
tion together  in  working  order  and  to  make  sure  that  no  state  or  federal 
laws  are  being  violated. 

The  articles  above  referred  to  are  as  follows: 

PREAMBLE 

For  the  purpose  of  co-operating  in  the  growing  and  mar- 
keting of  fruits  and  vegetables,  and  in  providing  packages 
and  spraying  materials,  fertilizers,  etc.,  for  same,  we, 
whose  names  are  hereto  annexed,  adopt  the  following  con- 
stitution and  by-laws: 

CONSTITUTION 

Article   I.      This  organization  shall  be  known  as  the  — 


Article  II.     The    officers    of    this    association    shall    be 


74       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

president,,  vice  president,  recording  secretary,  treasurer, 
business  manager,  and  a  business  committee  consisting  of 
five  members,  including  the  business  manager,  all  of  said 
officers  to  be  elected  by  ballot  in  July  of  each  year.  The 
business  committee  to  be  elected  first.  A  majority  of  all 
ballots  cast  shall  be  necessary  to  elect.  No  member  of  this 
association  shall  hold  more  than  one  office  in  the  associa- 
tion at  one  time,  except  the  business  manager,  who  is  also 
required  to  be  a  member  of  the  business  committee.  Only 
those  of  good,  moral  character  shall  be  eligible  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  business  committee. 

Article  III.  This  association  shall  meet  on  the  —  -  of 
each  month  at  the  —  —  at  —  —  o'clock  p.  m.,  unless 

adjourned  to  meet  elsewhere. 

Article  IV.  Any  person  who  is  a  horticulturist  or  agri- 
culturist may  make  application  for  membership  (in  writ- 
ing), and  must  be  recommended  by  two  members 
of  the  association.  The  membership  fee  of  one  dol- 
lar, and  the  annual  dues  of  one  dollar,  must  accom- 
pany the  application  and  be  offered  at  a  regular  meeting 
by  some  member  of  the  association.  The  application  will 
then  be  referred  to  a  committee  of  three  members  and 
laid  over  to  next  regular  meeting,  when  if  report  of  com- 
mittee is  favorable  it  shall  be  balloted  upon.  An  appli- 
cant to  be  elected  must  receive  two-thirds  of  all  votes  cast. 
Applications  for  membership  must  be  filed  not  later  than 
the  March  meeting  in  order  to  enable  the  applicant  to  ship 
with  the  association  the  current  year. 

Article  V.  When  growers  in  this  association  ship  ber- 
ries as  a  firm  or  company,  each  individual  member  of  the 
firm  or  company  must  become  a  member  of  the  association. 
No  firm  or  company  will  be  allowed  to  vote  by  proxy  on 
any  proposition  before  the  association. 

Article  VI.  The  annual  dues  of  this  association  shall  be 
one  dollar,  payable  July  1  each  year. 

Article  VII.  A  quorum  shall  consist  of  seven  members 
to  do  business. 

Article  VIII.  In  case  of  a  vacancy  in  office  the  vacancy 
shall  be  filled  at  the  first  regular  meeting  or  in  case  of 
emergency  at  a  called  meeting. 

Article  IX.     This  constitution  may  be  amended  at  any 


ASSOCIATIONS  AND  INDIVIDUALS  75 

regular  meeting  by  a  three-fourths  vote  of  the  members 
present,  provided  the  proposed  amendment  shall  have  been 
written  and  in  the  hands  of  the  secretary  and  read  by  him 
at  two  regular  meetings  previously. 

BY-LAWS 

No.  1.  All  officers  of  this  association  shall  assume  the 
duties  of  their  respective  offices  at  the  August  meeting  and 
perform  the  duties  required  of  them  by  the  rules  of  the 
association.  The  president  shall  call  special  meetings  when 
requested  to  do  so  by  the  business  committee  or  on  petition 
of  five  members  of  the  association.  The  deliberations  of 
this  association  shall  be  governed  by  the  rules  of  Cushing's 
Manual  of  Parlimentary  Usages. 

No.  2.  The  vice  president  shall,  in  the  absence  of  the 
president,  perform  the  duties  of  the  president.  In  the 
absence  of  both  president  and  vice  president,  a  temporary 
chairman  may  be  elected  by  the  association.  The  chap- 
lain shall  conduct  the  devotional  exercises  of  the  associa- 
tion. 

No.  3.  The  recording  secretary  shall  keep  an  accurate 
minute  or  record  of  all  the  transactions  of  the  association. 
He  shall  be  the  keeper  of  all  the  papers  and  records  of  the 
association  except  his  own  bond.  He  shall  collect  all 
moneys  due  the  association  for  dues,  fees,  fines  and  for- 
feitures. He  shall  pay  over  all  moneys  coming  into  his 
hands  to  the  treasurer  every  month,  taking  the  treasurer's 
receipt  therefor,  and  file  said  receipt  with  the  auditing  com- 
mittee as  soon  as  they  are  appointed.  He  shall  give  a  bond 
of  four  hundred  dollars,  signed  by  two  good  securities. 
Said  bond  shall  be  kept  by  the  president.  He  shall  re- 
ceive twenty-five  dollars  per  year  for  his  services. 

No.  4.  The  treasurer  shall  receive  all  moneys  belong- 
ing to  the  association  from  the  hands  of  the  recording  sec- 
retary, giving  his  receipt  therefor;  render  a  true  account 
of  all  moneys  received  and  paid  out  and  to  whom  paid.  He 
will  pay  out  money  on  warrants  ordered  by  the  association 
and  signed  by  the  president  and  secretary.  He  shall  give 
a  bond  of  one  thousand  dollars  signed  by  two  or  more  good 
securities,  and  he  shall  receive  twenty-five  dollars  per  year 
for  his  services. 


76       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

No.  5.  The  business  manager  shall  act  as  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  business  committee.  He  shall  keep  a  full 
and  correct  record  of  all  transactions  of  the  committee  and 
attend  to  all  the  correspondence  of  the  association.  He 
shall  receive  all  the  returns  from  the  commission  merchants 
and  other  sources,  and  make  disposition  of  same  as  quickly 
as  possible  as  directed  by  No.  14  of  the  by-laws.  When 
elected  he  shall  execute  a  satisfactory  bond  in  the  sum  of 
$25,000  to  the  association  as  individual  members,  for  the 
faithful  performance  of  the  duties  required  of  him  as  sec- 
retary and  treasurer.  He  shall  receive  for  his  services  one 
per  cent  of  the  gross  sales  of  all  fruits  and  berries  shipped. 
He  shall  employ  a  bookkeeper  and  all  other  help  needed 
at  the  shipping  sheds  at  salaries  which,  in  his  judgment, 
are  economical  to  the  association,  and  at  the  same  time  just 
to  the  one  employed.  The  salary  of  the  manager,  and  other 
help,  shall  be  paid  out  of  a  fund  created  for  this  purpose. 
He  shall  have  full  control  of  the  shipping  sheds.  He  shall 
present  his  books  and  accounts  to  the  auditing  committee 
when  said  committee  is  appointed  to  examine  the  accounts 
of  this  association  as  provided  by  No.  18  of  the  by-laws. 

No.  5.  (Sec.  1.)  The  business  committee  as  soon  as 
they  shall  have  been  elected,  shall  organize  by  electing  one 
of  their  number  chairman.  They  shall  meet  at  the  call  of 
their  chairman.  They  shall  have  power  over  the  actions 
of  the  business  manager  as  a  whole,  and  in  case  of  sickness, 
death  or  any  other  disability  of  the  manager  during  the 
shipping  season,  shall  select  a  temporary  manager.  The 
chairman  and  each  member  of  the  committee,  excepting 
the  business  manager,  shall  receive  two  dollars  each  meet- 
ing of  the  committee,  for  members  in  attendance.  It  shall 
be  the  duty  of  the  business  committee  to  select  the  commis- 
sion merchants  who  shall  handle  the  berries  of  the  as- 
sociation. 

No.  5.  (Sec.  2.)  For  the  purpose  of  paying  the  busi- 
ness manager,  bookkeeper  and  all  other  help  and  expenses 
incurred  in  the  shipment  of  berries,  there  shall  be  set  aside 
two  per  cent  of  the  gross  sales  of  all  shipments.  After  all 
salaries  and  expenses  have  been  paid,  the  remainder  of  this 
fund  to  be  pro-rated  to  the  growers  as  other  receipts.  All 
of  the  bonds  given  by  members  of  this  association  shall  be 
approved  by  the  association. 


ASSOCIATIONS  AND  INDIVIDUALS  77 

No.  6.  Each  officer,  committee,  agent,  or  any  other 
member  shall  present  to  the  association  for  approval  by 
a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  members  present  at  any  regular 
meeting,  an  itemized  account  of  any  expense  to  which  he 
may  have  been,  and  upon  such  approval,  a  warrant  shall  be 
issued  in  his  favor  on  the  treasurer. 

No.  7.  Nothing  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  hold  any 
member  responsible  for  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  or 
by-laws,  who  shall  voluntarily  withdraw  from  the  asso- 
ciation or  quit  the  business  of  fruit  growing. 

No.  8.  Any  member  withdrawing  from  the  association 
shall  be  entitled  to  receive  Jiis  dividend  of  the  unexpended 
rebate,  but  shall  forfeit  to  the  association  all  other  money 
belonging  thereto. 

No.  9.  A  voter  in  this  organization  shall  be  a  member 
who  is  a  grower  of  fruits  or  berries.  No  member  shall  have 
more  than  one  vote  on  any  subject. 

No.  10.  All  members  of  this  association  must  buy  all  of 
their  crate  or  spraying  materials  through  the  association. 

No.  11.  All  members  obligate  themselves  to  turn  over 
all  fruits  or  berries  to  the  business  committee,  to  be  shipped 
by  them,  except  those  they  may  need  to  supply  home  de- 
mand, or  for  shipment  to  friends.  In  no  case  shall  any 
member  be  allowed  to  sell  fruits  or  berries  for  shipment, 
unless  he  obtains  consent  of  the  business  committee  to  do 
so.  Upon  complaint  of  any  one  that  a  member  violates  the 
above  obligation,  the  business  committee  shall  make  an  in- 
vestigation at  once,  and  if  found  guilty,  the  secretary  shall 
be  notified  to  drop  his  name  from  the  membership  list.  It 
is  of  great  importance  that  the  growers  deliver  all  fruit  to 
the  management,  that  commission  houses  arranged  with 
may  not  at  any  time  be  disappointed  by  not  receiving  ex- 
pected shipments.  Each  grower  must  deliver  or  be  in  line 
ready  to  deliver  at  the  shipping  sheds  all  fruits  or  berries 
he  has  to  ship  each  day  not  later  than  ten  (10)  o'clock  p.  m. 

No.  12.  (a)  The  grades  of  strawberries  will  be  two, 
designated  as  "A"  and  "B"  (the  "B"  grades  blank).  The 
"A"  grade  must  be  strictly  choice,  firm,  sound  stock,  of 
good  size.  The  "B"  grade  must  also  be  firm  and  sound, 
but  may  be  somewhat  smaller.  Where  the  difference  in  sell- 
ing price  is  not  noted  on  account  sales  of  receivers,  the  sec- 


78       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

retary  shall  make  division  on  a  basis  of  a  difference  of  25 
cents  per  crate  between  the  two  grades.  Fruit  that  is  too 
soft  or  otherwise  unfit  to  grade  "B"  will  be  rejected.  After 
inspection  at  shipping  sheds  berries  that  grade  "A"  will 
.have  the  crates  stamped  on  both  ends  with  the  association's 
trade  mark  which  shall  read  as  follows,  viz: 

(Whatever  name  of  brand  and  association  may  be.) 

No.  12.  (b)  (Grading  and  packing  rules  for  other, 
fruits  or  vegetables  may  be  put  here.) 

No.  13.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  business  committee 
to  employ  a  man  of  good  judgment  and  ability  to  inspect 
all  fruit  delivered  by  growers  for  shipment,  and  he  shall 
be  given  as  many  assistants  as  are  necessary;  and  he  shall 
have  power  to  change  grades  and  reject  any  and  all  fruit 
which,  in  his  judgment,  and  the  judgment  of  the  business 
committee,  is  unfit  for  shipment. 

No.  14.  Each  grower  shall  receive  the  average  price 
per  crate  of  each  grade  each  day.  Should  it  be  necessary 
to  hold  over  fruits  or  berries  from  one  day  to  the  following 
day  for  shipment,  then  the  number  carried  over  shall  be 
disbursed  with  that  day's  shipment.  A  clean-up  shall  ap- 
pear as  having  been  made  each  day. 

No.  15.  The  secretary  receiving  fruits  or  berries  must 
give  each  grower  a  receipt  for  the  number  of  crates  of 
fruits  or  berries  delivered  designating  the  number  of 
crates  of  each  grade. 

No.  16.  All  members  obligate  themselves  to  be  gov- 
erned by  the  decision  of  the  association  in  regard  to  the 
prices  to  be  paid  for  picking  fruits  or  berries,  and  they 
agree  that  they  will  not  in  any  manner,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, such  as  by  a  gift,  premium,  or  by  counting  more 
trays,  baskets  or  quarts  than  has  actually  been  received 
at  the  packing  sheds,  or  through  any  member  of  the  family, 
or  any  other  individual,  pay  more  than  the  price  agreed 
upon  by  the  association.  The  penalty  for  violation  of  this 
obligation  shall  be  the  withholding  of  thirty-five  cents  a 
crate  for  all  berries  and  fifty  cents  a  bushel  for  peaches 
received  in  violation  of  the  above  named  by-law.  All  com- 
plaints shall  be  filed  with  the  field  inspectors  who  shall  in- 
vestigate the  matter  and  immediately  report  to  the  busi- 
ness committee,  who  shall  act  upon  the  matter  promptly, 


ASSOCIATIONS  AND  INDIVIDUALS  79 

and  the  funds  accruing  from  fines  shall  be  turned  into  the 
general  treasury.  A  copy  of  this  penalty  clause  shall  be 
incorporated  into  the  rules  for  the  packing  sheds. 

No.  17.  The  business  committee  shall  have  power  to 
appoint  a  man  as  marshal  if  necessary,  whose  duty  it 
shall  be  to  see  that  each  member  shall  be  allowed  to  un- 
load his  berries  in  the  order  in  which  he  may  come  to  the 
unloading  place.  He  shall  see  that  no  one  drives  out  of  his 
regular  turn.  Any  dispute  between  growers  shall  be  set- 
tled by  the  marshal.  Any  grower  who  shall  refuse  to  abide 
by  the  decision  of  the  marshal  shall  forfeit  his  place  and 
go  back  behind  every  wagon  present. 

No.  18.  The  president  shall,  at  the  regular  meeting  in 
June  of  each  year,  appoint  the  auditing  committee,  consist- 
ing of  two  members,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  examine  the 
books  and  accounts  of  the  officers  of  the  association  and 
business  committee  and  report  in  writing  at  the  regular 
meeting  held  in  July  following.  The  auditing  committee 
shall  each  receive  two  dollars  per  day  as  compensation  for 
the  time  required  to  examine  the  books  and  accounts  sub- 
mitted to  them. 

No.  19.  On  any  motion  the  vote  shall  be  yea  or  nay 
unless  some  member  shall  request  the  vote  being  taken 
by  ballot;  and  upon  such  request  being  made,  the  presi- 
dent shall  appoint  two  tellers  to  take  the  ballots ;  and  when 
the  voting  is  by  ballot  every  member  present  shall  vote  un- 
less he  is  excused  by  the  president,  provided  he  is  entitled 
to  a  vote.  Any  voter  refusing  to  vote,  who  has  not  been 
excused  by  the  president,  shall  forfeit  to  the  association 
fifty  cents.  A  voter  shall  be  a  member  in  good  standing. 

No.  20.  Any  member  who  shall  be  in  arrears  for  dues 
three  months  shall  forfeit  his  or  her  vote  and  all  benefits 
of  the  association  and  when  six  months  in  arrears  shall 
stand  suspended  from  the  association. 

No.  21.  Any  member  who  shall  have  been  proved 
guilty  of  fraud  or  immoral  conduct,  or  failed  to  meet  his 
just  obligations,  or  of  any  other  act  so  as  to  affect  the  credit 
and  good  standing  of  the  association  shall  be  barred  from 
membership. 

No.  22.  All  members  must  acquaint  themselves  with  the 
constitution  and  bv-laws  and  annex  their  names  thereto. 


80       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

No.  23.     These  by-laws  may  be  amended  in  accordance 
with  Article  9  of  the  constitution. 

ORDER    OF    BUSINESS 

1.  Calling  House  to  Order. 

2.  Calling  Roll  of  Members. 

3.  Reading  Minutes  of  Previous   Meeting. 

4.  Reading  Correspondence. 

5.  Reports  of  Committees. 

6.  Election  of  Officers. 

7.  Applications  for  Membership. 

8.  Balloting  on  Applications. 

9.  Unfinished  Business. 

10.  Bills   and  Accounts   Read  and  Disposed  of. 

11.  New  Business. 

12.  Discussion. 


CHAPTER    IX 

QUALITY  VS.  QUANTITY 

The  world  generally  has  come  to  recognize  the  fact  ihat  in  the  long 
run  it  is  quality  and  not  quantity  that  counts. 

This  truth  is  becoming  better  known  and  more  fully  realized  every  day 
by  all  branches  of  the  produce  trade.  It  frequently  occurs  that  a  small 
select  lot  of  fruits  or  produce  sells  for  more  than  a  whole  cargo  of  rub- 
bish will  bring.  I  infer  a  sufficient  number  of  shippers  and  dealers  have 
tasted  the  benefits  of  proper  selection  and  correct  grading  or  packing 
to  make  any  argument  unnecessary  to  show  that  it  pays  to  strive  for  a 
standard  that  will  be  so  good  as  to  be  almost  without  competition  when 
it  comes  to  marketing. 

Of  course,  if  the  theory  of  quality  is  carried  to  the  extreme  it  means  a 
limited  amount  of  goods  at  high  prices.  For  example,  if  all  the  onions 
in  the  country  were  put  into  one  packing  house  and  graded,  putting  only 
strictly  uniform  Al  stock  together  there  would  be  less  onions  in  the  Al 
class  than  we  would  suppose,  but  it  cannot  be  denied  that  strictly  Al 
prices  could  be  obtained  for  them  and  once  the  pack  or  brand  became 
known  it  would  sell  itself  for  all  time  to  come  at  a  premium  so  long  as 
the  quality  might  be  kept  up. 

Ample  proof  that  this  theory  is  correct  is  found  in  the  history  of  the 
apple  deal  in  the  far  northwest.  The  way  quality  is  emphasized  in  pre- 
paring Oregon  and  Washington  apples  for  market  seems  funny  to  an  out- 
sider who  is  so  ignorant  as  to  assume  that  "apples  are  apples"  no  matter 
how  they  are  put  up.  But  when  we  go  into  the  matter  for  a  closer 
investigation  we  find  that  while  all  apples  are  apples,  there  is  a  great 
difference  in  price  that  makes  off-grade  stock  seem  like  so  much  chaff 
compared  with  the  scientific,  superb  pack  of  apples  put  up  in  the  North- 
western states,  and  which  bring  the  highest  prices  in  both  American 
.•uid  European  markets.  By  way  of  courtesy  to  growers  of  apples  in 
Idaho^  Montana,  Colorado,  California  and  New  Mexico,  I  should  say 

81 


82       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

these  people  are  also  careful  in  their  pack,  although  they  have  not  reached 
the  high  degree  of  skill  to  be  found  in  Oregon  and  Washington  where  the 
theory  and  practice  of  correct  apple  growing  and  packing  has  doubtless 
approached  about  as  near  perfection  as  our  civilization  has  seen  or  will 
ever  see. 

What  applies  to  apples  also  holds  true  of  almost  every  commodity  in 
the  produce  field  so  far  as  the  premium  for  quality  is  concerned.  It 
seems  there  is  no  getting  enough  of  the  best  in  some  kinds  of  stock.  Buy- 
ers often  take  everything  in  sight  at  high  prices  and  are  often  found 
looking  for  more.  In  the  larger  cities  where  there  are  enormous  lines 
of  goods,  the  select  stock  shows  up  to  far  better  advantage  when  com- 
pared with  off-grade,  inferior  stuff.  Where  lots  of  goods  are  available 
it  naturally  follows  that  more  accurate  comparison  can  be  made.  Often 
when  berries  are  at  their  height  it  is  surprising  to  see  how  buyers  will 
snap  up  fancy  cases  at  a  premium  and  leave  off-grade  stock  untouched 
although  it  is  offered  at  bargain  counter  rates. 

Probably  the  best  explanation  for  this  is  that  there  is  enough  high 
class  trade  to  justify  paying  a  good  premium.  But  because  more  money 
is  paid  for  fine  stock  is  no  reason  why  such  stock  is  more  expensive,  for 
the  inferior  stock  may  be  dear  at  any  price,  however  cheap  it  may  seem. 
A  steadily  increasing  and  certainly  a  major  part  of  humanity  is  learning 
the  great  secret  that  the  first  or  initial  cost  of  any  article  amounts  to 
little  so  long  as  the  article  bought  will  give  entire  satisfaction  and  will 
yield  whatever  service  may  be  reasonably  required.  In  other  words, 
that  it  is  actually  worth  the  money  paid  for  it. 

Aside  from  his  ability  to  realize  more  spot  cash  for  his  produce  if  its 
quality  is  the  best,  the  grower  or  shipper  will  find  it  worth  his  while  from 
an  advertising  standpoint  to  put  up  the  right  kind  of  pack  and  establish 
his  brands  or  marks.  Everybody  in  the  trade  knows  that  certain  brands 
of  certain  articles  are  always  in  demand  at  good  prices. 

A  good  thing  is  not  usually  overlooked  or  forgotten  by  people.  If  your 
fruits  or  produce  possess  fine  quality  and  make  money  for  wholesaler, 
jobber  and  retailer,  you  can  rest  assured  your  pack  or  your  stock  will  be 
sought  after  so  long  as  it  continues  to  have  the  merit  that  makes  money. 

Right  here  I  want  to  emphasize  the  absolute  necessity  of  keeping 
brands  and  marks  up  to  the  standard  claimed  for  them.  It  does  little 
good  to  work  up  a  good  brand  that  represents  the  best  quality  and  then 
substitute  stock  of  poorer  quality  and  expect  the  brand  to  get  the  price. 
A  label  is  a  good  thing,  but  it  has  its  limitations.  Fine  feathers  do  not 
make  fine  birds,  nor  do  catchy  marks  and  brands  supply  quality  in  the 
contents  of  a  package  to  which  the  aforesaid  fancy  labels  may  be  affixed. 


QUALITY  VS.  QUANTITY  83 

But  a  good  label  is  a  great  help  in  handling  good  produce  of  all  kinds, 
and  especially  where  a  considerable  quantity  is  to  be  had  year  after  year. 
I  am  aware  that  it  is  a  difficult  undertaking  to  have  a  mark  or  brand, 
or  even  a  grade  for  every  article  handled,  but  so  far  as  possible  an  effort 
should  be  made  to  grade  all  kinds  of  fruits,  and  produce  and  if  properly 
done  the  results  will  be  surprising.  A  good  brand  well  established  is 
worth  a  fortune  in  itself. 

Of  course,  the  range  in  the  make-up  of  brands  and  marks  is  capable 
of  infinite  variety.  -They  may  take  their  name  and  style  of  make-up  from 
the  commodity  they  cover,  or-  from  the  section  where  produced,  or  maybe 
from  the  name  of  the  individual  or  firm  that  does  the  growing,  packing 
or  .selling.  Many  good  brands  are  taken  from  catchy  everyday  names, 
which  have  the  great  advantage  of  being  short  and  easily  remembered, 
while  others  are  based  on  various  suitable  things.  It  goes  without  say- 
ing that  a  brand  or  mark  should  be  considered  chiefly  from  the  stand- 
point of  an  advertisement,  and  like  all  advertising,  it  should  be  concise 
and  aim  to  tell  the  truth. 

By  selecting  the  proper  brand  or  mark  for  your  goods  you  should  have 
in  mind  that  you  are  advertising  your  goods,  yourself,  your  section,  your 
market  and  your  trade.  Good  printing  and  the  use  of  proper  colors  are 
aloO  important  if  the  best  results  are  to  be  hoped  for. 

I  am  fully  convinced  that  in  the  future  we  shall  see  more  thinking  done 
and  more  care  exercised  among  fruit  and  produce  people  in  the  matter 
of  grading,  packing,  labeling  or  branding  and  also  to  that  "steering  wheel 
of  commerce," — advertising.  In  a  later  chapter  I  shall  have  considerable 
to  say  about  grading  and  packing,  and  shall,  therefore,  refrain  from  touch- 
ing on  details  in  this  connection,  though  proper  grading  and  packing  are 
the  parents  of  quality. 

A  long  stride  in  the  direction  of  securing  better  quality  in  fruits  and 
produce  would  be  made  if  growers  and  shippers  would  only  reflect  that 
fancy  prices  cannot  be  had  for  certain  igoods  just  because  they  were  sent 
to  market  by  certain  people.  By  this  I  mean  to  say,  John  Smith  cannot 
look  for  his  peaches  to  sell  for  top  prices  for  no  other  reason  than  they 
were  grown  in  his  orchard. 

Unfortunately,  there  are  lots  of  people  who  are  so  contracted  in  their 
range  of  reason  as  to  believe  their  products  are  best  because  they  grew 
them,  and  do  not  stop  to  think  that  other  people  have  a  right  to  claim 
the  same  thing.  If  the  average  grower  could  only  go  into  one  of  the 
larger  markets  throughout  the  country  and  see  fruits  and  produce  com- 
ing from  different  sections,  and  observe  the  range  in  prices  for  quality 
it  would  be  a  great  help  to  the  trade  generally.  If  some  scheme  could 


84       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

be  devised  to  enlighten  shippers  and  growers  in  this  respect  there  would 
be  less  trouble  with  undergrade  and  off-grade  shipments. 

It  is  costly  experience  for  many  people  to  find  out  that  it  does  not 
pay  to  mix  up  shipments  indiscriminately.  Now  and  then  shippers  are 
misled  by  commission  men  who  send  out  reports  to  the  effect  that  the 
market  is  in  fine  shape  and  who  advise  shipping  "everything  in  sight." 
The  market  may  be,  and  usually  is,  in  fine  shape  for  all  the  fine  goods 
that  can  be  had,  but  it  usually  is  the  inferior  rubbish  that  demoralizes 
prices  and  ruins  the  sale  even  among  the  better  grades  of  goods. 

Growers  should  never  allow  the  enthusiasm  of  an  unscrupulous  or  care- 
less dealer  to  run  away  with  their  better  judgment  and  cause  them  to 
load  up  a  cargo  of  good,  bad  and  indifferent  stuff  and  send  it  along  to 
market  only  to  be  sold  for  charges  or  sent  to  the  dump.  If  a  little  horse 
sense  is  used  the  poor  stuff  will  be  kept  at  home,  and  the  medium  grades 
will  be  separated  from  the  finest  and  so  arranged  that  they  can  be  han- 
dled intelligently,  and  a  premium  can  be  had  for  the  best  stock. 

This  same  argument  holds  true  if  goods  are  being  consigned  or  sold  at 
shipping  stations.  In  either  event  it  is  a  matter  of  dollars  and  cents 
to  the  grower  and  shipper  to  use  caution  in  dividing  up  his  fruits  and 
produce  so  that  he  and  all  the  rest  of  mankind  can  tell  the  difference 
in  theii*  quality  and  can  establish  a  difference  in  price  on  the  basis  of 
difference  in  quality. 

Growers  and  shippers  everywhere  should  make  a  study  of  trade  re- 
quirements and  seek  to  satisfy  them.  By  no  means  should  they  aim  to 
gauge  the  popular  demand  by  their  own  views  and  tastes.  For  in- 
stance, an  apple  man  in  New  York  state  may  prefer  Greenings  or  light 
colored  apples,  but  as  a  general  thing  he  finds  a  Baldwin  or  a  King  is 
preferred  by  the  southern  trade  mainly  because  the  last  named  varieties 
are  red.  It  is  needless  to  go  into  the  why  and  the  wherefore  of  this 
or  any  other  idiosyncrasy  of  commerce.  When  one  is  met  and  is  ascer- 
tained to  be  true  the  next  best  thing  is  to  yield  to  its  requirements. 

In  the  southwest  there  are  hundreds  of  people  who  wonder  why  the 
northern  markets  will  not  take  yam  potatoes.  This  very  matter  was 
once  up  before  a  meeting  _  of  a  Texas  association  when  someone  sug- 
gested that  a  car  of  the  juicy,  candy-like  yams  be  sent  to  Chicago  and 
distributed  among  the  people  as  a  gift  so  they  might  see  how  fine  these 
potatoes  are  from  the  growers'  point  of  view.  This  suggestion  appeared 
to  meet  with  favor  until  an  elderly  grower  arose  and  said,  "Now,  if  those 
fool  people  would  rather  eat  our  old  dry  white  potatoes  I  say  grow  and 
ship  them  the  kind  they  want  and  will  pay  for."  This  suggestion  was 
carried  and  was  acted  upon  unanimously,  for  it  was  founded  on  that 


QUALITY  VS.  QUANTITY  85 

common  sense  principle  that  dictates  selling  people  what  they  want  and 
are  willing  to  pay  for. 

Life  is  too  short  and  time  is  too  precious  in  handling  fruits  and  prod- 
uce to  undertake  much  missionary  work  in  changing  the  tastes  of  people 
or  the  requirements  of  markets.  If  a  dealer  or  a  market,  for  instance, 
wants  potatoes  sacked,  by  all  means  supply  the  demand;  if  a  section 
wants  berries  in  sixteen  quart  cases  it  is  wise  to  use  that  style  of  pack- 
age if  it  is  insisted  upon;  if  Boston  wants  a  brown  egg  you  will  find  it 
to  your  advantage  to  get  that  color  on  the  eggs  you  ship  there  if  you  are 
an  egg  shipper  and  do  business"  in  that  market.  There  are  hundreds  of 
these  little  whims  that  come  up  in  the  produce  business  and  they  are  all 
worthy  of  serious  consideration,  for  a  fortune  may  depend  on  their  proper 
observance. 

So  much  has  been  said  and  remains  yet  to  be  said  about  plain,  every- 
day honesty  as  relates  to  produce  matters  that  I  was  on  the  verge  of 
omitting  mention  of  it  in  this  connection.  But  I  cannot  if  I  would. 
Unless  a  grower  or  shipper  is  honest  himself  he  is  unable  to  draw  a  clear 
distinction  between  what  is  good  and  what  is  not.  Too  often  the  grower 
seeks  to  deceive  the  trade  with  the  goods  he  has  to  offer. 

Quality  is  based  on  honesty.  It  is  a  process  of  separating  the  gold 
from  the  dross.  To  arrive  at  a  working  basis  for  quality  it  is  necessary 
to  have  some  skill  coupled  with  an  honest  purpose.  General  rules  are 
about  all  that  can  be  put  on  paper,  and  they  are  hardly  worth  while,  for 
every  individual  shipper  must  work  out  his  own  system  of  producing 
quality  in  the  kind  of  fruits  or  produce  he  has  for  sale,  and  if  he  has 
not  the  right  kind  no  system  will  save  him,  for  he  is  up  against  a  hard 
proposition  to  make  people  buy  even  the  best  goods  when  they  do  not 
want  them. 

Study  the  needs  and  wants  of  your  markets  and  your  trade  and  strive 
to  supply  them.  Be  intelligent,  be  honest,  work  hard  and  you  will 
prosper,  for  these  are  the  prerequisites  of  quality  in  what  you  grow  and 
ship. 

By  all  means  remember  that  it  is  not  how  much,  but  how  good  that  gets 
the  best  returns.  There  will  always  be  an  oversupply  of  the  inferior 
grades  of  fruits  and  produce.  Let  others  grow  and  ship  the  inferior 
kind;  you  cannot  afford  to  be  put  down  with  that  class  of  growers  and 
shippers  if  you  are  wide  enough  awake  to  get  this  book  and  read  these 
pages  and  ponder  over  the  subject  as  all  sensible  growers  and  shippers 
should. 

There  is  no  monopoly  in  quality  as  there  is  no  monopoly  in  ideas. 
If  every  grower  and  shipper  would  think  constantly  about  how  to  im- 


86       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

prove  the  quality  of  what  he  grows  and  ships  his  net  earnings  would  be 
increased  considerably  in  the  run  of  a  lifetime,  and  if  he  should  discover 
some  new  plan  to  get  better  quality  and  should  build  up  a  brand  or  a 
mark  as  a  badge  of  honor  for  his  products  as  he  might  easily  do,  he  would 
leave  his  heirs  a  priceless  heritage  which  would  yield  them  a  handsome 
revenue  so  long  as  they  kept  up  the  good  quality  in  the  same  line  of 
goods. 

Superior  quality  can  only  come  from  close  attention  to  detail,  but  by 
thinking  out  carefully  a  proper  system  of  growing,  harvesting  and  pack- 
ing I  believe  it  is  much  more  easily  secured  than  many  people  seem  to 
believe. 


CHAPTER    X 

PACKAGES 

Primarily  all  packages  are  intended  for  protection.  In  handling  fruits 
and  produce  it  is  essential  that  more  or  less  protection  be  given  to  dif- 
ferent articles,  and  usually  the  package  is  relied  upon  to  provide  this 
protection. 

But  the  theory  of  a  package  involves  more  than  mere  protection;  it 
is  also  a  means  of  attracting  or  repelling  trade.  One  is  often  induced 
to  buy  an  article  of  fruit  or  produce  because  it  is  put  up  in  artistic 
fashion  in  an  attractive  package. 

The  style  of  display  has  a  far  reaching  influence  in  the  successful 
handling  of  fruits  and  produce,,  and  no  one  can  convince  the  experienced 
dealer  or  shipper  that  this  is  not  true. 

No  phase  of  the  produce  business  is  more  slow  to  change  than  that  of 
packages  and  the  reason  is  no  doubt  to  be  found  in  the  convenience,  safety 
and  satisfaction  of  using  established  sizes,  styles  and  measures  which 
have  been  bought  and  sold  among  the  trade  "since  the  mind  of  man 
runneth  not  to  the  contrary." 

The  ability  to  originate  a  new  or  improved  package  is  a  gift  that  few 
men  in  the  trade  possess.  The  produce  business  is  one  where  customs 
and  styles  change  slowly,  just  as  styles  and  customs  are  adhered  to  gen- 
eration after  generation  among  oriental  peoples.  Therefore,  the  kind  of 
package  one  becomes  used  to  one  usually  prefers  to  continue  using  until 
something  better  is  discovered  and  brought  into  general  use,  and  nearly 
everyone  prefers  that  others  always  do  the  experimenting  with  a  new 
style  or  kind  of  package. 

To  be  desirable  a  package  must  be  as  light  as  is  consistent  with  the 
necessary  strength  to  make  it  substantial  for  whatever  purpose  it  is 
intended.  Compactness  and  convenience  in  handling  are  also  desirable 
features.  But  unfortunately,  all  packages  we  find  used  in  handling  fruits 
and  produce  do  not  seem  to  have  been  selected  with  this  aim  in  view. 

87 


88       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

Some  hulks  and  frames  that  come  on  the  various  markets  appear  to  have 
been  made  in  prehistoric  times,  and  were  never  intended  for  handling 
more  or  less  fragile  and  delicate  articles  such  as  most  fruits,  vegetables, 
etc. 

Packages!  They  are  without  number  and  if  one  or  two  of  every 
style,  size,  shape  and  color  could  be  brought  together  under  one  roof  it 
would  be  a  sight  worth  travelling  miles  to  see,  and  would  no  doubt  be 
worth  an  admission  fee  of  a  dollar  from  everyone  in  the  trade  who 
devotes  even  a  passing  thought  to  the  improvement  of  trade  conditions. 

There  are  barrels,  boxes,  baskets,  hampers,  crates,  cases,  coops,  kegs, 
tubs,  drums,  cartons,  buckets,  bags  and  so  on  ad  infinitum  in  the  scheme 
of  packages  and  coverings  used  in  handling  the  thousand  and  one  different 
commodities  in  the  realm  of  fruits  and  produce. 

Since  many  kinds  of  wood  fulfill  the  two  essentials  of  being  light,  and 
at  the  same  time  strong,  it  is  quite  natural  that  wood  is  largely  used 
in  the  making  of  packages  especially  where  a  heavy  or  bulky  commodity 
is  to  be  handled.  Other  things  being  equal  barrels,  boxes  and  crates 
are  given  preference  in  most  instances  for  outside  packages  as  they  are 
more  easily  handled  than  other  kinds.  But  some  articles  can  be  bought 
and  sold  to  best  advantage  in  baskets  while  other  kinds  require  coops, 
cases,  etc. 

However,  there  is  room  for  great  improvement  in  the  scheme  of  pack- 
ages now  in  use  and  I  shall  be  surprised  if  some  sweeping  reforms  are 
not  made  in  the  future  with  respect  to  certain  packages  at  least.  The  high 
prices  prevailing  for  lumber  and  the  growing  scarcity  of  timber  make  one 
pause  and  wonder  what  changes  will  have  to  be  made.  Already  there 
is  often  great  difficulty  in  getting  'orders  filled  for  certain  kinds  of  pack- 
ages, and  every  year  there  seems  to  be  more  and  more  trouble  to  supply 
the  trade  with  such  packages  as  are  needed.  Here  is  a  field  for  inventive 
talent  and  some  fellow  who  may  have  the  disposition  and  the  ability  can 
cover  himself  with  immortal  glory,  as  well  as  make  a  fortune,  by  work- 
ing out  a  scheme  for  a  package  that  may  be  used  for  a  number  of  articles 
and  perhaps  universally  if  varied  slightly  in  its  make-up. 

I  submit  that  it  is  not  a  visionary  idea  to  predict  a  new  scheme  in  pack- 
ages for  most  kinds  of  produce,  and  we  may  be  forced  to  work  out  some 
new  plan  to  solve  the  aggravating  problem  that  is  becoming  more  acute 
as  time  goes  on  with  an  ever  increasing  volume  of  business  and  less  pack- 
age material  for  use  in  supplying  the  needs  of  the  trade.  I  am  sure  I 
have  no  suggestion  to  offer  with  respect  to  inventing  a  new  universal 
package,  but  I  mention  the  fact  in  all  candor  that  there  is  a  field  in  the 
realm  of  packages  as  yet  unexplored. 


PACKAGES  89 

From  time  to  time  there  has  been  a  serious  shortage  in  egg  cases  and 
egg  case  material  and  it  is  doubtful  if  the  demand  will  ever  be  steadily 
supplied  so  long  as  the  white  wood  veneer  cases  are  used.  The  paper 
case  is  still  in  the  experimental  stage  and  if  it  proves  to  be  a  success  there 
may  be  the  same  difficulty  in  procuring  paper  material  before  many 
years  that  we  now  find  in  securing  enough  wood  to  make  veneer  cases. 
On  the  other  hand  barrels  and  cooperage  stock  are  no  longer  plentiful 
and  prices  will  never  be  lower,  say  the  men  handling  that  line  of  goods. 
Box  shocks  are  often  almost  as  good  as  gold  if  they  can  be  had.  Num- 
bers of  package  factories  are  unable  to  take  proper  care  of  their  trade, 
especially  when  there  is  an  extra  demand  for  a  few  weeks. 

I  have  no  disposition  to  grow  pessimistic  on  this  or  any  other  subject, 
but  it  seems  clear  that  it  is  high  time  the  fruit  and  produce  trade  is  do- 
ing some  serious  thinking  and  planning,  some  concerted  action  to  pro- 
vide against  trouble  in  the  future  from  a  shortage  in  packages  that  will 
work  a  serious  hardship  on  the  country  at  large  if  no  remedy  is  pro- 
vided beforehand.  One  thing  is  certain  and  that  is  the  necessary  pack- 
ages must  be  had  somehow.  If  enough  wood  cannot  be  obtained  a  sub- 
stitute must  be  found  in  some  way. 

The  federal  government  is  taking  steps  to  preserve  our  scant  remnants 
of  forests  that  may  have  escaped  the  ravages  of  the  lumberman's  axe, 
and  to  restore  as  far  as  possible  the  primitive  woods  that  have  been 
ruthlessly  cut  out  all  over  the  continent.  But  the  best  results  to  be  ex- 
pected from  even  heroic  efforts  by  our  Washington  government  are  a 
mere  bagatelle  compared  with  the  growing  needs  of  the  country.  From 
whatever  angle  the  problem  is  looked  at  it  assumes  an  ugly  aspect.  Some 
people,  I  know,  will  be  so  smart  as  to  suggest  that  I  am  crossing  bridges 
before  I  reach  them  by  talking  on  this  subject  as  I  am,  but  such  people 
lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  only  the  foolish  fail  to  plan  and  provide  for 
the  future. 

He  is  blind  to  facts  who  fails  to  see  that  the  package  problem  is  not 
one  of  the  least  that  looms  up  on  the  produce  horizon.  It  may  be  a  few 
years  reaching  us  but  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  set  up  a  warning  here  and  fly 
the  danger  signal  as  I  scan  the  approaching  storm.  I  cannot  ward  off  the 
winds  but  I  can  possibly  warn  the  trade  of  their  approach.  Pardon  me, 
I  had  not  intended  to  convey  the  idea  that  I  am  a  prophet  or  even  a 
weather  man,  for  I  am  not  the  original  discoverer  of  the  "package  prob- 
lem" of  the  future.  Level  headed  people  have  discussed  the  matter  for 
several  years  and  the  subject  has  been  one  that  has  made  conservative 
men  worry  before  I  had  even  given  it  a  serious  thought  or  discovered  there 
is  such  a  problem. 


90       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

» 

The  cheapness  of  a  package  is  also  one  of  the  essential  tests  to  which 
it  must  be  subjected  before  it  can  be  passed  upon  as  being  desirable. 
The  cheap  package,  however,,  is  not  necessarily  the  best,  for  it  may 
be  a  dear  proposition  although  cheap.  The  best  package  is  generally  the 
cheapest  in  the  long  run. 

What  constitutes  the  best  package  is,  of  course,  subject  to  various  in- 
terpretation, but  ordinarily  the  best  package  is  the  one  that  is  best  cal- 
culated to  protect  goods  in  which  they  are  shipped  and  at  the  same  time 
permit  them  to  be  best  displayed  in  order  to  bring  their  full  market  value 
when  put  on  sale.  A  fine  picture  deserves  a  fine  frame;  so  does  good 
fruit  or  produce  deserve  a  good  package,  for  the  package  is  to  the  latter 
what  the  frame  is  to  the  former. 

Specific  rules  are  not  easily  formulated  and  there  are  so  many  ex- 
ceptions for  different  commodities  in  different  localities  that  it  is  next 
kin  to  useless  for  one  to  go  into  the  various  details  calling  attention  to 
good  or  bad  points  of  certain  kinds  and  styles  of  packages.  However, 
I  cannot  refrain  from  saying  that  the  sooner  some  packages  are  relegated 
to  the  scrap  heap  the  better  for  the  trade  generally.  The  four  basket 
crate  with  slanting  sides  for  peaches  is  a  bad  idea  and  its  use  ought  to 
be  discarded.  The  six  basket  carrier  or  even  the  bushel  or  half  bushel 
basket  is  preferable.  Again,  the  second  hand  egg  case  is  a  nuisance  un- 
less these  cases  are  properly  bound  with  iron  straps  so  as  to  prevent  loss 
from  breakage. 

Shipping  packing  stock  or  roll  butter  in  anything  but  good  parchment 
lined,  clean  barrels  is  a  costly  mistake.  It  is  downright  cruel  as  well  as 
bad  judgment  to  crowd  live  fowls  into  a  small  coop  that  was  never  con- 
structed with  a  view  to  being  comfortable  for  the  birds  it  is  made  to 
hold.  Some  miserable  traps  for  shipping  poultry  should  be  discarded 
by  passing  some  stringent  laws  if  necessary  or  enforcing  existing  laws. 

Many  shippers  are  too  careless  in  using  packages  that  are  flimsy  and 
are  easily  broken  up  or  damaged  by  rough  handling.  Untold  wealth  is 
lost  every  year  through  bad  judgment  in  selecting  packages  for  shipping 
early  southern  fruits  and  vegetables  from  the  south  to  northern  markets. 
Generally  speaking  all  these  packages  should  be  stronger.  They  prob- 
ably would  cost  a  bit  more  to  make  and  for  transportation,  but  there 
would  be  a  great  saving  from  rough  handling  which  often  ruins  packages 
and  contents. 

Above  all  things  there  should  be  no  "snide"  packages.  If  a  package 
is  called  a  bushel  box,  or  a  peck  basket  or  a  three  bushel  barrel  it  should 
be  true  to  specifications.  Dishonesty  in  packages  as  in  other  things,  is 
unwise  and  will  sooner  or  later  make  trouble. 


/  • 


Ib— * 


PACKAGES  91 

Unfortunately  our  whole  system  of  packages,  like  our  system  of  weights 
and  measures,  is  characterized  mainly  for  its  lack  of  uniformity.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  a  federal  law  fixing  uniform  weights  and  measures 
would  be  a  great  aid  in  bringing  about  needed  reforms  in  all  kinds  of 
packages. 

Uniform  packages  insofar  as  possible  are  very  much  to  be  desired 
from  every  point  of  view,  and  while  there  are  great  difficulties  to  be  over- 
come in  regulating  what  the  entire  country  shall  use,  at  the  same  time 
a  great  many  progressive  growers  and  shippers  are  coming  to  see  where 
the  advantage  lies.  Pretty  nearly  all  dealers  are  a  unit  in  wishing  for 
honest,  uniform  measures. 

But  it  is  unlikely  we  shall  get  much  nearer  the  ideal  state  of  uniform 
packages  so  long  as  we  have  a  majority  of  growers  who  seemingly  want 
to  try  deluding  others,  and  are  in  fact,  deluding  themselves.  Snide  pack- 
ages constitute  an  excellent  boomerang, — they  are  designed  to  catch  some- 
one and  instead  whip  back  to  the  one  who  starts  them,  for  there  is  no 
question  they  are  more  expensive  to  the  grower  than  to  anyone  else. 

Of  late  years  we  have  seen  a  noticeable  drift  in  the  direction  of  putting 
up  different  kinds  of  fruits  and  produce  in  small  enough  units  to  be 
passed  through  wholesaler,  jobber  and  retailer  to  the  consumer  without 
re-handling,  and  there  is  a  lot  of  good  sense  in  the  plan. 

Usually  a  needless  waste  comes  from  handling  and  repacking.  But- 
ter that  is  put  up  in  pound  prints  at  the  creamery,  California  grapes  in 
small  baskets  the  consumer  can  take  away  in  handy  fashion,  eggs  in 
cartons  from  the  country  shipper,  apples  in  small  packages,  melons  in 
carriers,  all  help  to  stimulate  trade  as  well  as  prevent  needless  waste. 

There  are  numerous  little  ideas  in  the  field  of  packages  that  are  yet 
to  be  discovered  and  made  use  of.  As  we  go  on  and  the  need  becomes 
more  apparent  for  these  improvements  we  shall  no  doubt  have  some 
surprises.  The  writer  is  firmly  convinced  we  have  much  to  learn  before 
we  can  claim  perfection  in  the  adaptation  or  treatment  of  ideas  in  our 
common  packages,  and  he  hopes  to  see  more  interest  shown  in  the  general 
improvement  of  packages  within  the  next  few  years. 

Possibly  there  is  greater  need  for  a  good,  all  around  bushel  crate  for 
harvesting,  shipping  and  storing  various  fruits  and  vegetables  than  can 
be  said  of  any  other  one  kind  of  package.  Such  a  package  in  a  bushel 
crate  has  been  worked  out  by  Professor  Ballou  of  the  Ohio  Experiment 
Station,  and  which  he  describes  as  follows : 

"The  desirable  features  of  a  crate  for  holding  or  storing  potatoes, 
apples  or  other  produce  are  lightness,  strength,  compactness  and  con- 
venience in  handling.  If  these  points  be  combined  in  a  style  or  form  of 


92       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

package  that  will  enable  us  to  store  them  away  economically  when  empty 
— in  the  least  possible  space — we  have  pretty  nearly  the  ideal  crate. 
Personally  I  do  not  care  for  a  "folding"  crate.  The  number  of  parts  and 
the  cost  of  manufacturing  are  increased,  and  one  is  likely  to  find  himself 
unwittingly  infringing  on  some  one's  "patent."  Besides,  the  folding 
feature  is  of  no  great  advantage  to  the  busy  man,  who  has  use  for  the 
crates  nearly  the  whole  year  round. 

"A  style  of  crates  that  anyone  can  build,  and  which  may  be  stored  away, 
three  crates  in  the  space  of  two,  ought  to  be  good  enough  for  the  most 
exacting.  We  are  using  such  crates  at  the  experiment  station,  and  they 
give  excellent  service  and  satisfaction.  They  hold  a  full,  rounded  bushel, 
level  full,  and  permit  of  a  cover  being  nailed  on,  or  of  being  racked  up, 
one  upon  another,  without  crushing  or  bruising  the  contents.  The  cubic 
contents  of  such  crates,  dimensions  for  making  which  are  given  below, 
are  about  2,700  cubic  inches,  while  2,688  cubic  inches  constitute  a  legal 
or  U.  S.  rounded  bushel. 

"The  crates  are  made  entirely  of  light  strips  of  wood — no  solid  ends, 
sides  or  bottoms  being  used.  Material,  exact  measure:  Uprights  or  cor- 
ner posts — length,  12V2  inches,  width  2  inches;  thickness,  Vii  inch. 
Ends,  18%  inches  by  2  by  %  inch.  Sides  and  bottom,  16%  inches  by 
2  by  %  inch. 

This  makes  a  crate  16%  inches  long,  13%  inches  wide  and  12%  inches 
high,  outside  measure,  and  the  pieces  are  easily  assembled.  These  crates 
can  be  "nested" — three  in  the  space  of  two." 


CHAPTER    XI 

GRADING  AND  PACKING 

No  subject  before  the  produce  public  is  more  important  than  that  of 
promoting  the  cause  of  better  grading  and  packing  of  fruits  and  vege- 
tables, and  in  fact,  all  kinds  of  produce  articles  down  to  roots,  junk,  bot- 
tles, bones  and  rags,  if  I  may  be  permitted  to  include  some  of  the  latter 
within  legitimate  produce  lines.  . 

In  foregoing  chapters  intimations  have  been  already  given  of  the  neces- 
sity of  making  the  best  appearances  with  produce  when  it  goes  to  mar- 
ket to  be  sold.  Right  here  I  want  to  say  candidly  that  I  regard  proper 
grading  and  packing  fully  fifty  per  cent  of  the  marketing  end  of  the 
produce  deal,  at  least,  so  far  as  the  grower  and  shipper  are  concerned. 

The  subject  is  one  that  has  already  received  much  attention  all  over 
the  country  and  is  destined  to  be  heard  of  more  and  more  as  all  branches 
of  the  trade  are  fully  awakened  to  the  vital  importance  of  the  subject. 

Grading  and  packing  is  at  once  a  science  and  an  art.  The  field  can 
never  be  exhausted  as  there  are  infinite  possibilities  for  improvement  in 
the  preparation  of  nearly  every  commodity  for  marketing.  In  a  large 
measure  the  size,  style  and  kind  of  package  to  be  used  for  a  given  article 
places  limitations  on  the  grading  and  packing.  Certain  arbitrary  changes 
may  be  forced  from  time  to  time  in  packing  on  account  of  scarcity  in 
some  kinds  of  packages.  But  there  is  room  for  expert  knowledge  and 
careful  study  to  make  the  best  of  whatever  materials  are  to  be  had. 
Scarcity  of  package  materials  may  cause  far  reaching  changes  in  the 
present  methods  of  putting  up  fruits,  etc.  Therefore,  the  question  of 
packages  is  intimately  related  to  the  matter  of  grading  and  packing. 

However  that  may  be  we  shall  always  see  a  premium  paid  for  the  best 
pack,  and  there  is  great  incentive  for  extra  efforts  to  grade  more  carefully 
and  pack  better  all  along  the  line.  It  is  no  longer  a  question  of  choice 
but  a  matter  of  necessity  for  associations  and  individuals  to  emphasize 
correct,  up-to-date  grading  and  packing  if  they  are  to  reap  the  full  meas- 

93 


94       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

ure  of  success  so  much  desired  by  all.  Instances  have  already  been  cited 
to  show  what  results  are  obtained  by  apple  growers  in  the  northwest  by 
going  to  extra  pains  in  putting  out  the  best  kind  of  fruit. 

Examples  could  be  multiplied  from  other  sections  covering  other  arti- 
cles, but  the  facts  are  being  brought  home  to  the  careless  grower  every 
day  and  the  cold  logic  of  dollars  and  cents  are  the  mute  witnesses  that 
bear  effective  testimony  that  the  right  kind  of  grading  and  packing  is 
worth  while  and  about  the  only  kind  that  is  worth  while.  There  is  little 
or  no  sentiment  in  the  dollar,  and  produce  that  sells  for  the  most  money 
must  have  some  qualifications  not  found  in  other  kinds  that  bring  less 
money.  Isn't  this  perfectly  clear? 

Perhaps  no  better  example  of  what  can  be  accomplished  by  proper 
grading  and  packing  is  to  be  found  than  that  of  cantaloupes.  A  few 
years  ago  the  possibilities  in  handling  these  melons  were  hardly  dreamed 
of  by  the  trade  at  large.  The  great  distance  that  California,  Arizona 
and  Colorado  melons  had  to  be  shipped  to  market  in  the  larger  cities  and 
the  high  transportation  charges  to  be  figured  on  made  it  necessary  to 
handle  only  good  stock.  This  caused  a  close  grade  for  quality,  and  dic- 
tated a  pack  that  would  allow  the  melons  to  go  a  long  distance  and  reach 
destination  in  merchantable  shape.  Good  prices  were  easily  obtained  for 
the  right  kind  of  stock  and  the  quality  was  maintained  which  made  a 
reputation  for  the  cantaloupe,  and  which  has  been  the  foundation  for  sev- 
eral considerable  fortunes.  The  handling  of  cantaloupes  has  now  be- 
come a  well  developed  specialty  that  engages  some  of  the  best  talent  in 
the  trade,  and  those  who  were  disposed  to  sneer  at  these  gems  when  the 
field  was  being  developed  are  now  compelled  to  take  off  their  hats  to  the 
lasting  monument  to  correct  grading  and  packing.  Without  the  rigid 
grading  system  used  in  marketing  these  melons  -the  big  industry  would 
have  been  utterly  impossible. 

The  palm  must  be  yielded  to  the  far  west  for  the  earliest  and  best  grad- 
ing and  packing  of  produce  after  scientific  and  artistic  methods.  In 
fact,  people  in  coast .  territory  originated  many  of  the  styles  and  ideas 
now  in  vogue,  and  have  displayed  good  judgment  in  most  of  their  ideas. 

While  there  are  some  modifications  and  improvements  the  original 
bases  and  schemes  are  still  about  the  same.  The  system  of  sizes  of  citrus 
fruits  in  boxes  of  certain  dimensions  is  about  the  most  clever  device 
imaginable,  and  has  been  reduced  to  such  mathematical  precision  that  it 
is  difficult  to  suggest  further  improvements.  In  these  packages  there  is 
uniformity,  neatness  and  evidence  of  quality  throughout  that  always 
secures  favorable  consideration  among  the  trade  and  also  from  the  great 
consuming  public  which  gives  rise  to  an  annual  traffic  of  25,000  to  30,- 


GRADING  AND  PACKING  95 

000  cars  which  amounts  to  a  sum  of  money  that  is  colossal  for  the  fruit 
business,  which  the  average  person  out  of  the  trade  is  too  apt  to  think  is 
a  kind  of  corner  peanut  stand  proposition. 

I  might  add  that  most  deciduous  fruits  from  the  far  west  are  generally 
handled  with  the  same  painstaking  care  as  applies  to  citrus  fruits. 
Plums,,  grapes,  cherries,  apricots,  peaches,  pears,  apples,  etc.,  are  graded 
closely  and  are  nearly  always  what  the  grade  implies,  and  so  far  as 
quality  goes  the  fruit  is  grown  as  good  as  the  soil,  the  climate  and  expert 
attention  will  produce. 

No  doubt  the  long  season  of  equable  temperature  in  the  far  west  has 
much  to  do  with  the  uniform  fruit  to  be  found  there,  for  it  is  generally 
uniform  in  size,  color,  taste,  carrying  quality,  etc.  The  dry  climate  of 
Colorado  is  a  great  advantage  in  growing  peaches  that  can  be  kept  for 
a  much  longer  time  than  those  peaches  grown  where  rainfall  is  irregular 
and  often  excessive  at  the  wrong  time  for  getting  best  results  in  the 
quality  of  fruit.  And  what  is  true  of  peaches  is  also  true  of  other  fruits 
of  nearly  all  kinds  grown  in  the  inter-mountain  country. 

But  where  there  are  not  such  advantages  in  the  way  of  climatic  condi- 
tions as  are  found  in  the  far  west,  and  where  fruit  growing  is  a  less 
certain  business,  there  is  all  the  more  argument  in  favor  of  careful  at- 
tention to  the  subject  of  grading  and  packing.  It  should  not  require  a 
genius  to  realize  that  proper  grading  only  means  getting  together  all 
fruit  of  uniform  quality,  color  and  size,  and  anyone  of  a  little  experience 
who  has  two  eyes  and  who  is  honest  should  be  able  to  throw  out  the 
inferior  fruit  from  what  he  ships  if  he  is  unable  to  evolve  a  perfect  sys- 
tem of  points  upon  which  to  base  classes  or  grades.  Packing  usually 
proceeds  after  fixed  styles  that  vary  widely  for  different  articles.  How- 
ever, a  package  may  conform  to  regular  styles  and  still  be  dishonest. 

The  fact  that  many  Eastern  apple  growers  have  been  known  of  old  to 
put  fruit  about  like  this 

oooooooooo 

on  top  of  their  barrels,  and  at  the  bottom  in  order  to  face  off  the  pack- 
age, and  to  fill  in  between  with  stock  about  like  this 
o  o  o  o  o 

has  caused  some  folks  to  suppose  the  grower  who  follows  such  practices 
is  more  interested  in  catching  a  sucker  in  some  apple  buyer  than  he  is  in 
making  his  pack  a  good  advertisement  for  himself  and  a  money  maker 
for  his  purchaser. 

I  regret  to  say  there  are  too  many  cases  where  growers  aim  to  deceive 
by  their  pack ;  to  lie  by  action  if  not  by  word,  and  secure  good  American 
money  with  no  fly  specks  on  it  for  stock  worth  about  half  what  is  paid 


96       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

for  it  if  judged  by  proper  standards  of  grading  and  packing  which  should 
rest  on  common,  everyday  honesty.  Such  tactics  have  caused  "farmers' 
pack"  to  come  to  have  a  negative  meaning  among  dealers. 

If  growers  and  shippers  generally  would  stop  to  think  that  in  the  end 
it  is  pennywise  and  pound  foolish  to  try  these  tactics  they  would  all 
abandon  such  business  and  try  to  get  on  a  correct  system  that  would 
yield  them  just  as  much,  if  not  more  money,  by  getting  the  premium 
on  quality  and  not  by  trying  to  flim-flam  somebody  with  a  faulty,  dis- 
honest pack.  In  other  words,  they  should  look  for  revenue  from  a  quali- 
tative and  not  from  a  quantitative  standpoint.  The  fact  that  the  poor 
fruit  in  a  package  usually  sells  it  instead  of  the  good  fruit  is  the  main 
thing  to  remember  about  the  importance  of  offering  good  stock  only. 

Considerable  has  been  said  about  the  Fruit  Marks  act  which  is  now 
in  operation  all  over  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  many  people  in 
the  trade  throughout  the  states  are  of  the  opinion  that  some  such  law 
should  be  put  into  operation  in  the  United  States. 

It  would  no  doubt  be  a  capital  plan  to  require  so  far  as  possible  every 
fruit  and  vegetable  grower  and  shipper  to  have  a  stamp  bearing  his  name 
or  registered  number  which  should  be  put  on  every  package  he  sells  or 
sends  on  the  market  to  be  sold,  and  have  certain  grades  or  classes  and 
require  every  grower  or  shipper  to  declare  by  means  of  a  mark  on  the 
package,  or  otherwise,  just  what  is  the  quality  of  the  contents  of  the 
package  and  what  quantity  it  contains. 

A  rigid  federal  regulation  may  be  necessary  to  make  some  tricky 
growers  and  shippers  quit  using  "snide"  measures,  and  abandon  the  dis- 
graceful practice  of  putting  rubbish  in  the  bottom  or  middle  of  a  package 
and  a  covering  of  good  stock  on  top,  bottom  or  outside,  so  as  to  mislead 
people  in  and  out  of  the  trade  who  have  become  sick  and  tired  of  such 
trickery  and  dishonesty. 

In  view  of  the  sweeping  reforms  we  have  seen  in,  federal  and  state 
laws  the  last  few  years  it  need  cause  little  surprise  if  some  general  law 
of  this  kind  is  passed  before  many  years,  for  the  matter  has  been  agitated 
and  there  are  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  honest  growers  and  shippers  who 
want  to  see  the  morals  of  the  trade  upheld  and  elevated,  and  who  would 
support  heartily  such  a  measure  and  would  see  that  it  is  properly  en- 
forced if  passed  by  Congress  or  uniformly  by  the  various  states.  No 
single  state  or  collection  of  states  less  than  the  whole  union  can  deal 
effectively  with  such  legislation,  for  the  produce  business  is  so  largely 
interstate  traffic  that  state  laws  alone  would  be  of  little  avail  to  accom- 
plish the  necessary  ends  unless  uniform  action  is  to  be  had  similar  to  the 
pure  food  laws. 


GRADING  AND  PACKING  97 

No  doubt  much  of  the  unsatisfactory  packing  found  in  all  lines  of 
fruits  and  produce  arises  from  sheer  ignorance — honest  ignorance — I 
might  say,  for  there  are  many  growers  who  seem  to  have  a  very  slight 
conception  of  what  correct  grading  and  packing  means. 

For  such  there  should  be  ample  instruction.  But  for  those  who  persist 
in  questionable  practices  some  penalty  should  be  provided  and  enforced. 
Those  who  raise  and  ship  any  kind  of  produce  should  make  a  close 
study  of  the  best  plan  for  putting  up  goods  in  attractive  shape,  and 
what  packages  and  what  grades  are  wanted  in  various  markets  and  for 
the  different  classes  of  buyers.  Most  dealers  will  be  glad  to  give  in- 
formation and  help  shippers  to  make  improvements  in  their  packs  and 
grades,  since  dealers  have  a  joint  interest  with  growers  and  shippers  in 
such  matters.  Much  progress  has  already  been  secured  in  this  way,  es- 
pecially in  new  producing  sections. 

One  great  difficulty  in  packing  has  been  that  too  much  haste  is  made  to 
get  shipments  ready,  and  stuff  is  often  thrown  about  and  crammed  into 
the  packages  the  quickest  way  possible.  This  is  all  wrong.  It  is  usually 
better  that  a  shipment  be  delayed  than  have  it  go  forward  in  a  slip-shod 
fashion  that  will  ruin  the  prospect  of  its  selling  for  best  available  prices. 
Transportation  costs  just  as  much  for  poor  stuff  as  for  the  best;  therefore, 
it  is  making  money  to  take  a  little  more  time  and  ship  better  stuff  by 
fixing  a  better  pack. 

I  am  fully  alive  to  the  fact  that  it  is  not  always  possible  to  grade 
closely  all  kinds  of  produce  at  initial  points,  for  proper  facilities  cannot 
always  be  had  for  grading  such  a  commodity  as  eggs,  and  perhaps  a  few 
others.  But  I  submit  that  as  a  general  proposition  the  trade  would  make, 
or  better  save,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  every  season  by  exer- 
cising more  care  in  grading  and  packing  from  the  first  places  where  all 
kinds  of  produce  originate  in  commercial  quantities.  If  only  the  better 
class  of  stock  is  shipped  and  the  rubbish  is  left  behind  there  would 
be  a  great  sum  saved  in  transportation  that  is  annually  paid  out  for 
shipments  that  go  in  whole  or  in  part  to  the  dump  after  reaching 
destination. 

By  all  means  the  question  of  proper  grading  should  be  studied  care- 
fully by  every  shipper.  New  ideas  will  suggest  themselves  from  time 
to  time  and  much  money  can  be  made  by  strenuous  thinking  on  new  and 
better  plans  for  grades  and  packs. 


CHAPTER    XII 

WHERE  IS  YOUR  MARKET? 

In  raising  the  question  indicated  by  the  caption  of  this  chapter  I  hope 
it  will  be  clearly  understood  that  I  have  in  mind  principally  the  matter 
of  net  results,  for  no  market  is  worth  while  unless  it  makes  a  profit  for 
a  shipper  not  so  much  on  one  shipment,  but  for  a  season,  as  we  must  bear 
in  mind  it  is  the  average  that  must  be  figured  on  to  reach  a  fair  idea  of 
profits  or  losses. 

Although  distance  is  easily  a  factor  that  must  always  be  taken  into 
consideration  in  deciding  what  is  your  best  market  it  is  by  no  means  true 
that  distance  is  the  bar  it  used  to  be  in  past  years  when  the  stage  coach 
was  in  operation,  or  even  since  railroads  and  steamship  lines  have  been 
brought  to  a  state  of  semi-perfection  when  the  continent  can  be  crossed 
in  three  or  four  days,  and  when  the  subtle  electric  flash  goes  from  coast 
to  coast  in  a  breath. 

It  has  been  truly  said  modern  inventions  have  well  nigh  annihilated 
time  and  space.  The  effect  is  quite  evident  in  handling  fruits  and  prod- 
uce when  it  is  not  infrequent  in  some  of  the  larger  markets  to  see  ship- 
ments offered  for  sale  alongside  one  another  from  nearly  every  state  in 
the  union,  and  perhaps  half  a  dozen  foreign  countries. 

Conditions  nowadays  make  it  possible  almost  to  do  miracles  in  the  way 
of  handling  all  kinds  of  produce.  Many  cars  of  various  commodities  are 
loaded  every  day  and  set  rolling  with  no  particular  destination  in  view. 
Sometimes  they  may  have  to  be  held  up  at  a  junction  point  or  even  at 
a  terminal  for  orders,  but  usually  there  are  diversion  orders  given  the 
railroad  companies  on  cars  billed  to  "our  order,"  and  it  is  truly  mar- 
velous with  what  despatch  these  diversions  can  be  handled.  It  is  not 
with  a  view  to  throwing  any  bouquet  at  the  transportation  lines  that  I 
refer  to  these  "miracles  of  shipping,"  for  I  shall  not  agree  that  the  semi- 
perfect  condition  of  transportation  is  not  due  as  largely  to  the  business 
men  of  the  country  as  to  the  transportation  people  who  are  themselves 

98 


WHERE  IS  YOUR  MARKET?  99 

supposed  to  be  business  men,  but  who  are  often  only  snobs  and  petty 
autocrats  so  far  as  the  law  allows  or  conditions  justify. 

It  cannot  be  successfully  refuted  that  many  conveniences  and  improve- 
ments in  transportation  have  been  put  in  or  made  at  the  insistent  demands 
of  the  business  public.  And  these  are  some  of  the  very  things  for  which 
the  transportation  people  try  to  take  the  most  credit ;  it  occurs  to  me  that 
the  man  who  is  good  only  when  under  duress  is  entitled  to  few  rewards 
for  his  piety. 

Therefore,  the  shipping  facilities  today  for  which  the  transportation 
people  are  not  wholly  responsible,  make  distance  cut  comparatively  little 
figure  in  the  produce  business.  This  is  especially  true  of  high  priced 
stuff. 

It  would  seem  incredible  that  freezers  of  strawberries  from  Florida 
could  be  shipped  by  express  at  an  exhorbitant  rate  and  move  to  northern 
markets  at  a  profit.  To  speak  of  shipping  car  lots  of  cantaloupes  across 
the  continent  by  express  would  have  been  quite  enough  to  disconcert  a 
mollycoddle  in  the  produce  business  some  years  ago.  But  this  very 
thing  is  done  every  season,  thus  finding  a  market  at  a  great  distance,  but 
no  doubt  the  logical  market. 

Australian  butter  has  to  move  quite  half  way  around  the  globe  to 
reach  the  United  States,  yet  when  conditions  are  right  it  is  no  trick  at 
all  to  handle  the  deal,  as  it  matters  little  whether  we  ship  by  land  or 
water  so  long  as  we  reach  the  market  we  should  and  at  the  right  time. 

Now  every  dealer  believes  or  should  believe  that  he  has  the  "best" 
market  in  the  country.  The  reason  I  say  he  should  believe  his  market  is 
the  best  is  also  the  chief  reason  he  has  for  declaring  his  house  is  the 
"best," — indeed,  it  is  the  most  plausible  excuse  one  can  have  for  being 
in  business,  and  once  a  fellow  is  in  the  deal,  planted  firmly  on  this  con- 
viction with  reasonable  capital  and  tolerable  morals,  he  may  be  a  bad 
proposition  as  a  competitor  even  for  the  big  houses  to  tackle,  although 
the  aforesaid  inflated  peewee  may  reside  at  some  "jay  town"  that  hardly 
lias  its  name  in  the  geography  and  not  even  have  a  Carnegie  library.  It 
is  all  in  the  system, — this  produce  game.  The  commodity  being  handled 
lias  a  wide  influence  on  the  system,  it  is  true,  but  given  the  right  com- 
modity into  the  hands  of  the  right  man  and  it  is  a  combination  hard  to 
beat.  Things  happen  ever  so  often  that  seem  astounding. 

Markets  can  be  used  that  look  to  be  clear  out  of  bounds.  The  fellow 
who  knows  every  detail  of  his  line  can  do  wonders  with  it,  or  rather 
make  it  do  wonders,  for  his  hand  need  hardly  be  seen  once  his  system 
gets  under  way. 

It  is  especially  true  of  the  car  lot  shipments  that  they  can  go  almost 


100  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

anywhere.  Staples  like  apples,  potatoes,  onions,  cabbage,  cranberries, 
poultry,  butter,  eggs,  cheese,  etc.  can  be  placed  in  any  one  of  a  hundred 
different  markets  when  conditions  are  favorable.  Generally  such  goods 
are  handled  on  a  price  f.o.b.,  or  else  the  transportation  charges  are  added 
and  a  delivered  price  is  made,  with  draft  attached  to  bill  of  lading. 

It  is  with  the  small  shipments  that  there  is  most  room  for  worry  about 
where  the  right  market  is.  Although  transportation  does  not  prevent 
shipping  long  distances  when  conditions  are  right,  yet  the  high  trans- 
poration  charges  are  much  higher  still  on  less  than  car  lot  shipments, 
and  unless  there  is  some  plan  to  combine  shipments  of  different  ship- 
pers and  get  the  reduced  car  lot  rate,  the  charges  often  preclude  reach- 
ing markets  where  the  rate  is  above  a  certain  figure  which  is  the  limit 
the  article  will  stand  without  selling  for  "charges'"'  at  destination,  or 
else  lose  money  in  some  other  way. 

In  order  to  determine  where  your  market  is  you  must  study  all  the 
markets.  Here  is  where  the  association  has  very  great  advantage  over 
the  individual  shipper,  for  the  association  composed  of  fifty  or  a  hun- 
dred shippers  can  have  one  man  cover  the  entire  situation,  and  even  if  all 
wires  and  other  expenses  are  paid  for  every  day  by  the  association,  the 
information  obtained  is  nominal  in  cost  when  prorated  among  the  whole 
membership.  And  to  be  able  to  ship  intelligently  such  information  must 
be  had  daily,  almost  hourly,  to  know  which  are  the  proper  markets  to 
use. 

But  the  little  shipper  who  is  stuck  off  in  a  cross  roads  town,  who  be- 
longs to  no  association  and  has  no  opportunity  to  co-operate  with  others 
has  to  knit  his  brow  to  find  his  best  outlet,  and  like  many  others,  he 
probably  allows  someone  who  has  not  his  best  interest  at  heart  to  do  his 
thinking  for  him.  It  is  well  for  the  shipper  to  rely  on  his  commission 
man  if  he  is  getting  proper  treatment,  but  if  the  shipper  finds  some  other 
market  that  yields  him  better  returns,  it  takes  something  more  than  claims 
of  the  "best  market"  to  hold  him  from  making  a  quick  change. 

But  it  is  dangerous  for  shippers  to  conclude  too  quickly  they  have 
struck  it  rich  when  they  send  one  or  two  shipments  to  a  house  in  a  new 
market,  for  there  can  be  no  telling  what  the  next  few  shipments  will  do 
as  we  have  already  seen  why  the  first  returns  are  often  padded  out  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  heavier  shipments  later,  which  are  made  to  stand 
the  loss  of  the  bait  sent  along  with  the  first  returns.  It  is  the  average 
of  the  season  and  not  a  single  shipment  that  makes  a  market  or  a  house 
worth  while.  Lots  of  shippers  have  trouble  getting  a  correct  view  of  this 
proposition. 

For  example:     A  shipment  of  five  barrels  of  apples  may  sell  for  $2, 


WHERE  IS  YOUR  MARKET?  101 

$1.75,  $1.50,  $1.25  and  $1  which  is  only  $1.50  per  barrel  for  them  all. 
If  two  barrels  did  sell  over  the  average  price,  there  were  enough  sold 
at  and  under  the  average  to  cut  it  down  to  a  figure  where  some  other 
market  might  have  better  had  the  shipment. 

This  average,  of  course,  applies  to  only  one  sale.  The  season's  aver- 
age is  far  more  intricate  and  important.  We  have  all  seen  prices  slowly 
drop  from  early  in  the  season  to  the  close  when  it  almost  takes  a  spy 
glass  to  see  a  profit  at  the  wind  up.  Some  cases  where  houses  start  in 
low  they  keep  getting  about  the  same  prices,  and  when  they  wind  up 
their  shippers  have  a  better  average  price  than  others  who  began  the 
game  with  a  rainbow  account  of  sales  and  a  hand  painted  check.  By 
no  means  can  the  result  of  one  or  two  shipments  be  conclusive  evidence 
as  to  the  goodness  or  the  badness  of  a  market,  nor  can  the  first  sales 
be  taken  as  a  criterion  for  what  will  happen  in  the  future.  It  stands 
to  reason,  of  course,  that  when  one  shipment  brings  a  good  price,  the 
next  one  will  also  likely  produce  the  same  result.  But  this  is  one  of  the 
illusions  that  the  produce  crook  uses  to  coin  money,  and  there  is  ample 
proof  that  the  scheme  has  been  successful  again  and  again  when  operated 
properly. 

One  important  thing  in  selecting  a  market  is  to  connect  with  a  good 
house.  How  best  to  do  this  I  shall  take  up  for  later  treatment.  But 
it  is  a  fact  that  a  good  house  in  a  bad  market  is  better  than  a  bad  house 
in  a  good  market  so  far  as  the  shipper  is  concerned. 

Generally  speaking  a  good  distributing  point  whether  in  a  large  or  a 
small  town  is  a  good  market  for  handling  a  wholesale  or  jobbing  busi- 
ness. But  the  larger  cities  are  naturally  better  centers  for  consuming/ 
purposes.  If  labor  conditions  are  good  and  people  are  prosperous  it  is 
next  kin  to  impossible  for  the  larger  markets  to  be  over  loaded  more  than 
a  few  days  at  any  one  time  with  choice  produce. 

Some  shippers  who  have  made  a  superficial  survey  of  conditions  and 
people  take  the  position  that  their  market  is  at  their  shipping  stations  and 
they  will  sell  for  cash  only  and  must  have  the  money  or  a  bank  guarantee 
that  the  consignee  will  protect  shipper's  draft,  which  is  equivalent  to  cash. 
After  all,  the  question  of  selling  or  consigning  is  a  broad  one  and  de- 
serves treatment  more  fully  in  a  separate  chapter.  But  this  much  can 
be  said:  there  are  times  when  it  is  best  to  use  both  systems  if  used 
intelligently.  Some  shipments  no  doubt  show  best  returns  on  a  legitimate 
consignment  basis. 

No  set  of  rules  can  be  put  down  on  paper  to  determine  what  market  is 
best  for  this  or  that  commodity,  or  when  it  is  best  to  sell  or  consign.  Con- 
ditions may  change  over  night  that  make  a  good  market  today  a  bad 


102  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

one  for  tomorrow  and  vice  versa.  It  requires  careful  study  to  keep  up 
with  the  game,  and  no  one  is  so  wise  as  to  be  absolutely  sure  what  wifl 
turn  up  tomorrow. 

But  if  one  is  fairly  intelligent  he  can  easily  get  a  line  on  things,  and 
with  a  little  experience  can  draw  correct  conclusions  quickly, — can  cash 
his  judgment  for  so  much  bullion  when  he  hits  things  right.  Still  no  one 
learns  all  the  ropes  in  a  life  time  and  some  men  who  have  grown  gray 
headed  in  the  business  have  come  to  find  out  some  things  late  in  life 
that  almost  make  them  weep  to  realize  what  they  have  lost  for  not 
knowing  them  sooner. 

Information  is  one  of  the  prime  essentials  in  arriving  at  what  markets 
it  is  best  to  use.  Your  best  market  may,  therefore,  be  a  thousand  miles 
away  or  it  may  be  at  your  own  packing  shed,  or  in  your  orchard  or  on 
track  at  your  station. 

Let  me  repeat :  the  question  can  hardly  be  studied  too  thoroughly,  for  it 
means  a  substantial  reward  for  him  that  knows  that  he  knows  what  he  is 
doing  when  he  makes  a  shipment.  Those  who  make  a  practice  of  shoot- 
ing into  the  dark  with  a  blunderbuss,  as  it  were,  by  consigning  to  Tom, 
Dick  and  Harry  in  any  and  every  market  will  find  enough  trouble  after 
shipping  if  they  are  not  disposed  to  give  themselves  a  little  trouble  to 
be  sure  of  their  ground  before  shipping  indiscriminately.  Again,  the 
fellow  who  refuses  to  consign  and  sits  down  waiting  for  buyers  may 
lose  a  golden  opportunity  by  so  doing. 

Under  all  circumstances,  your  best  market  is  the  one  that  yields  the 
best  average  profit.  But  it  often  requires  some  higher  mathematics  to 
know  anything  definite  about  various  markets  until  you  have  tried 
them  out. 


CHAPTER    XIII 

SELL  OR  CONSIGN? 

Sentiment  among  growers  and  shippers  appears  to  be  hopelessly  di- 
vided on  the  question  whether  it  is  best  to  sell  or  consign  and  to  set  up 
any  certain  arbitrary  rule  to  follow  is  a  difficult  if  not  an  impossible  task. 

There  are  extremists  on  this  subject  as  is  true  of  nearly  every  similar 
question  that  has  agitated  the  mind  of  man  from  the  earliest  times.  But 
the  question  is  still  unsettled  and  it  will  perhaps  continue  to  rest  in  that 
state  indefinitely,  for  its  proper  solution  depends  on  so  many  other  prob- 
lems that  no  one  can  tell  how  the  matter  will  be  disposed  of  or  what 
its  ultimate  outcome  will  be. 

It  is  true  that  many  growers  have  become  prejudiced  on  this  subject 
and  have  apparently  allowed  their  prejudice  to  run  away  with  their  judg- 
ment to  the  detriment  of  their  best  interests.  I  suppose  it  is  nobody's 
business  when  an  association  or  an  individual  shipper  makes  a  hard  and 
fast  rule  to  sell  everything  for  cash  f .  o.  b.  or  have  a  bank  guarantee  before 
shipping,  or  else  let  their  fruit,  vegetables,  etc.  rot  in  the  fields  or  orchards. 
But  it  must  be  recognized  as  bad  judgment  to  adopt  such  business  policy 
which  shows  plainly  the  lack  of  confidence  in  all  mankind  which  usually 
results  from  misunderstandings  or  downright  ignorance. 

I  am  fully  aware  of  the  fact  that  many  commission  men  have  abused 
the  confidence  of  growers  and  shippers  and  I  have  already  said  enough 
on  this  subject  to  indicate  clearly  what  I  think  of  the  dishonest  element 
among  commission  men,  and  I  hope  I  have  also  stated  clearly  my  views 
with  respect  to  the  dishonest  element  among  shippers  and  associations. 
But  it  is  wrong  to  draw  any  conclusion  about  the  whole  trade  over  the 
country,  or  about  the  merits  or  demerits  of  selling  or  consigning  simply 
because  a  few  isolated  cases  are  taken  and  held  up  as  frightful  examples 
when  there  are  thousands  of  cases  that  might  be  cited  to  prove  the  con- 
trary is  true. 

Transactions  in  the  aggregate  must  be  looked  at  to  form  a  sensible 

103 


104  PRODUCE  MARKETS-  AND  MARKETING 

opinion  about  the  produce  business  just  as  it  is  necessary  to  perform  a 
number  of  experiments  or  prove  a  number  of  facts  to  establish  a  uni- 
versal law  or  to  arrive  at  a  general  truth,  whether  this  truth  relates  to 
business,  theology,  mathematics,  physics  or  what  not. 

From  a  careful  observation  extending  over  a  period  of  several  years 
I  must  say  that  I  have  no  preference  whatever  for  one  system  of  handling 
produce  as  against  the  other.  There  are  occasions  now  and  then  when 
there  is  no  reasonable  doubt  but  it  is  preferable  both  to  the  grower, 
shipper  and  dealer  to  use  the  consignment  basis  in  handling  shipments 
of  fruits  and  produce,  while  there  are  other  occasions  when  it  is  no  doubt 
best  even  from  the  dealer's  standpoint  to  buy  outright. 

When  I  speak  of  consigning  I  trust  I  will  not  be  misunderstood,  for  I 
refer  only  to  the  responsible,  respectable  element  that  receives  and  sells 
shipments  for  the  account  of  others,  and  I  also,  refer  to  the  individual 
shipper  and  to  the  associations  that  take  a  reasonable  amount  of  care 
in  putting  up  stock  and  in  using  good  judgment  in  its  distribution. 

The  receivers  in  the  different  markets  are  not  altogether  responsible 
for  profits  or  losses  from  handling  consignments,  and  while  the  average 
shipper  or  grower  appears  not  to  understand  this  fact,  he  would  be 
less  liable  to  find  fault  with  the  commission  system  when  part  of  the 
fault  so  often  lies  with  him  more  than  it  does  with  the  man  he  may  have 
have  selected  to  represent  him,  or  the  market  to  which  he  ships. 

On  behalf  of  the  commission  men  I  desire  to  say  emphatically  that 
there  are  hundreds  of  them  in  many  markets  who  are  entitled  to  the 
fullest  confidence  of  growers,  shippers  and  associations, — men  who  put 
in  long  hours  of  work  for  small  pay  considering  the  rewards  other  lines 
of  business  yield  for  similar  service.  As  a  general  proposition  I  think 
it  will  be  much  better  for  everybody  concerned  if  the  commission  men 
were  allowed  more  money  for  their  services  as  marketing  agents.  But 
I  shall  take  up  this  matter  for  later  treatment  and  prefer  to  waive  further 
comment  for  the  present. 

After  all,  the  matter  of  selling  or  consigning  is  one  that  depends  upon 
conditions  that  vary  with  the  seasons  and  with  different  commodities. 
Whichever  system  yields  the  best  profit  is  undoubtedly  the  best  one  to 
use.  Some  commodities  have  to  be  handled  now  and  then  on  a  con- 
signment basis  because  buyers  cannot  be  found  readily  at  shipping  points. 
In  such  instances  it  is  rather  unreasonable  to  look  for  big  profits  when 
all  markets  are  well  supplied.  Again,  when  markets  are  in  good  condi- 
tion and  if  the  grower  or  association  has  a  suitable  connection  they  can 
get  the  advantage  of  higher  prices  by  consigning,  whereas  if  they  sell 
upon  the  f.  o.  b.  plan  they  can  rest  assured  that  the  buyer  has  figured  in 


SELL  OR  CONSIGN?  105 

transportation  charges,  has  allowed  for  a  depreciation  in  quality  and 
has  also  figured  his  profit,  which  would  necessarily  be  a  fairly  good  one 
to  warrant  his  investment.  But  in  such  cases  where  it  is  necessary  to 
raise  money  immediately  from  the  sale  of  produce,  and  a  reasonable 
track  offer  can  be  secured  it  is  no  doubt  the  proper  thing  to  sell  if  a 
fair  price  is  paid. 

A  typical  case  showing  what  can  be  done  in  handling  some  lines  al- 
most exclusively  on  a  consignment  basis  is  found  in  one  of  the  largest 
associations  in  the  southwest  whose  officials  say  unhesitatingly  that  their 
best  results  are  secured  from  the  consignment  system.  Still  other  lines 
report  best  results  from  sales  made  f.  o.  b.  or  in  transit.  But  the  season, 
market  conditions  and  connections  have  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the 
success  or  failure  of  either  plan. 

An  instance  showing  how  growers  are  sometimes  blinded  by  preju- 
dice and  sometimes  make  losses  for  themselves  is  brought  out  clearly 
in  an  association  of  strawberry  shippers  in  a  southern  section  who  de- 
cided a  year  or  two  ago  that  they  would  sell  everything  f.  o.  b.  on  a 
strictly  cash  basis. 

But  the  buyers  did  not  come  as  had  been  expected.  A  few  lots  of 
berries,  whose  quality  was  poor  as  usual,  were  sold  to  the  first  buyers, 
and  as  might  be  expected  because  of  the  unsatisfactory  quality  the  buyers 
either  lost  money  or  broke  even  on  their  investment.  They  were  in- 
different about  taking  more  stock.  Yet  the  growers  insisted  on  sticking 
to  their  original  plan  and  had  several  extra  refrigerator  cars  put  on  a 
spur  track  and  loaded  with  berries  of  better  quality;  they  shot  out  wires 
right  and  left  to  jobbers  and  dealers,  but  there  were  no  responses  at 
the  prices  asked,  and  the  few  buyers'  representatives  who  had  been  on 
the  ground  had  received  instructions  to  proceed  elsewhere;  the  loaded 
cars  were  left  on  track  unsold.  The  owners  of  these  berries  had  made 
no  preparation  to  consign  their  shipments  and  the  fruit  was  left  to 
rot,  and  quite  a  lot  of  it  was  actually  dumped  at  the  original  loading 
station.  Some  of  the  growers  felt  disposed  to  modify  their  rule  and 
prepared  to  send  a  few  shipments  forward  to  good  firms  in  different 
markets  to  be  handled  for  their  account.  But  the  express  company  re- 
fused to  furnish  them  with  any  more  cars,  for  their  equipment  was  badly 
needed  at  other  points  from  which  shipments  were  being  made  daily 
and  where  there  was  no  risk  about  having  cars  loaded  and  left  on  track 
several  days  only  to  have  their  contents  dumped,  and  consequently  bring 
no  revenue  to  the  owners  of  the  equipment.  Further  losses  were  sus- 
tained among  the  growers,  and  the  express  company,  together  with  the 
commission  men,  were  accused  of  nearly  every  sin  in  the  decalogue.  The 
season  wound  up  disastrously  and  instead  of  realizing  even  a  small  profit 


106  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

on  the  entire  crop,  most  of  the  berries  grown  in  this  immediate  locality 
went  to  waste,  for  it  was  only  the  local  consumptive  demand  the  growers 
had  to  depend  upon. 

They  were  literally  committing  business  suicide  when  they  tied  them- 
selves to  a  hard  and  fast  rule  against  consigning,  and  before  they  could 
remedy  their  error  and  lay  plans  for  connections  the  best  part  of  their 
season  was  well  over. 

Although  their  berries  might  easily  have  been  used  in  different  markets 
at  a  fair  price  if  proper  connections  had  been  selected  in  advance  and  the 
berries  had  been  put  through  at  the  right  time,  it  was  discovered  later 
that  it  takes  more  or  less  time  to  work  up  a  satisfactory  outlet  even  on 
the  right  kind  of  commission  deal. 

But  there  are  some  growers  and  associations  who  go  on  the  theory 
that  they  will  sell  the  best  stock  on  track  for  cash  and  consign  their 
rubbish,  as  they  appear  to  believe  they  will  realize  nothing  from  their 
consignments  anyway. 

Unless  the  right  connections  are  worked  up  and  the  proper  confidence 
is  placed  in  these  connections  it  is  best  perhaps  not  to  consign  anything. 
But  when  conditions  so  dictate,  and  consignments  are  properly  placed 
they  should,  and  usually  do,  make  money  for  the  shipper. 

During  a  season  when  supplies  are  abundant  and  buyers  rarely  show 
up  at  shipping  points  it  is  almost  absolutely  necessary  to  look  for  an 
outlet  on  a  consignment  basis.  This  has  always  been  the  case  and  prob- 
ably always  will  be. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  a  large  percentage  of  the  world's  food  stuffs 
is  handled  on  a  commission  basis  at  some  stage  of  the  game  from  pro- 
ducer to  consumer,  and  I  submit  that  a  system  which  is  of  such  long  stand- 
ing and  such  universal  application  must  have  some  good  points  in  its 
favor. 

Naturally,  the  main  difficulty  on  a  consignment  proposition  is  to  get  a 
square  deal.  Some  shippers  are  so  prejudiced  and  narrow  minded  that 
they  incline  to  the  opinion  that  there  is  no  such  person  as  an  honest 
commission  man.  They  appear  to  regard  him  somewhat  like  the  child 
regards  all  stories  when  he  comes  to  know  about  the  fairies  of  which  he 
has  been  accustomed  to  read  in  the  picture  books. 

Many  shippers  have  warped  or  extravagant  notions  about  how  fruits 
and  produce  are  put  through  the  great  markets  of  the  country,  and  some 
of  them  apparently  have  an  idea  that  any  kind  of  truck  can  be  exchanged 
for  its  weight  in  gold  or  other  precious  metals,  and  that  it  is  a  simple  thing 
to  get  rich  if  the  proper  police  protection  could  be  had  to  keep  the 
commission  men  from  robbing  the  shippers  before  they  could  get  out  of 
town  if  they  were  allowed  to  bring  shipments  in  and  sell  them  themselves. 


SELL  OR  CONSIGN?  .  107 

If  such  growers  and  shippers  could  spend  a  little  time  in  the  large 
markets  seeing  with  their  own  eyes  what  is  daily  taking  place  I  have  no 
doubt  but  they  would  revise  their  opinions  about  trade  conditions  gener- 
ally, and  I  think  most  of  them  would  be  fair  minded  enough  to  agree  that 
the  commission  men,  jobbers,  brokers,  etc.  as  a  class  are  no  worse,  if  no 
better,  than  the  average  run  of  people. 

That  many  sins  must  be  answered  for  among  receivers  in  the  larger 
markets  there  can  be  no  doubt,  but  I  am'  confident  many  a  firm  has  been 
accused  of  wrong  doing  when  there  was  no  reasonable  grounds  for  accu- 
sation. On  the  other  hand,  there  are  many  commission  thieves  who  are 
not  found  out,  but  the  same  applies  to  any  and  every  line  of  business 
as  far  as  that  goes.  Let's  not  be  so  unfair  as  to  condemn  a  system 
because  it  has  a  flaw  or  two  here  and  there. 

Now,  the  question  may  be  reasonably  asked:  If  there  are  some  who 
are  not  found  out  how  can  one  be  sure  he  is  in  safe  hands  when  making 
consignments  ? 

The  only  answer  that  can  be  made  is  that  there  is  no  absolute  assur- 
ance, although  reasonable  certainty  can  usually  be  had.  It  only  re- 
quires a  little  investigation  at  a  nominal  expense  nowadays  to  find  out 
who  is  who.  There  are  good  firms  and  individual  dealers  all  over  the 
country.  The  various  commercial  agencies,  banks,  transportation  com- 
panies, trade  papers,  etc.,  constitute  a  reasonable  source  of  information 
which  can  usually  be  relied  on  in  selecting  commission  merchants  in 
different  markets. 

The  question  of  the  best  market  is  frequently  interwoven  very  closely 
with  the  question  of  consigning  or  selling,  for  both  involve  the  matter  of 
results  as  we  have  already  seen.  Those  who  are  progressive  enough  to 
make  a  careful  study  and  who  are  honest  enough  to  admit  the  truth 
when  it  is  found  out,  can  evolve  a  proper  solution  of  the  question  of  sell- 
ing or  consigning,  even  if  it  only  applies  for  one  season,  one  week  or 
one  day.  Those  who  are  contracted  or  ignorant  or  who  have  little  con- 
fidence in  themselves  or  in  their  fellow  men  will  hardly  obtain  satis- 
factory results  from  either  system,  and  I  suppose  little  comment  so  far 
as  their  relations  go  will  be  worth  while. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  say  that  those  who  find  the  consigning  system 
the  most  profitable  should  stick  to  it.  On  the  other  hand,  those  who 
find  f.  o.  b.  sales  productive  of  the  best  results,  should  continue  that 
method  of  marketing. 

But  I  feel  sure  those  who  are  alive  to  their  best  interests  will  not 
despise  either  system  when  properly  worked,  for  the  fault  is  not  in  the 
system  so  much  as  with  the  individual,  sometimes  at  one  or  the  other 
end  of  the  line  and,  I  regret  to  say,  sometimes  at  both  ends. 


CrtAPTER    XIV 

AUCTIONS 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  so  many  different  kinds  of  fruits  and  vegetables 
are  being  sold  at  auction  nowadays,  it  would  not  be  out  of  place  perhaps 
to  have  a  few  words  with  reference  to  this  system  of  selling,  and  while 
I  want  it  distinctly  understood  at  the  outset  that  I  am  not  offering  any 
arguments  particularly  in  favor  of  the  auction  system  or  against  it,  I 
do  think  that  some  of  the  points  in  favor  of  the  auction  system  of  selling 
might  well  be  included  in  this  volume. 

Practically  all  fruits  and  vegetables  imported  into  this  country  in 
quantities  are  sold  through  different  auctions,  usually  at  the  port  of 
entry.  This  is  particularly  true  with  reference  to  Italian  lemons,  Spanish 
onions,  and  a  large  part  of  the  bananas  brought  into  the  larger  sea-ports 
every  season,  while  quite  a  respectable  portion  of  various  other  kinds  of 
fruits  and  vegetables  also  find  their  way  into  the  hands  of  the  jobbing 
trade  through  the  auction  channel. 

In  the  way  of  domestic  fruits  we  have  an  enormous  amount  of  deciduous 
fruits  from  the  Pacific  Coast  which  are  sold  through  auctions  in  the 
various  large  markets,  while  quite  a  bit  of  citrus  fruit  from  California 
and  Florida  is  sold  at  auction  in  various  large  market  centers  every  season. 
In  Chicago,  which  is  probably  the  largest  distributing  point  in  the 
country  for  deciduous  fruits,  the  annual  business  now  transacted  runs  from 
3,000  to  4,000  cars,  and  it  is  amazing  with  what  speed  these  sales  are 
conducted.  One  of  the  leading  Chicago  auctioneers  has  a  record  of  sell- 
ing around  50  cars  of  deciduous  fruits  on  one  occasion  in  about  two  hours 
and  a  half.  The  same  thing  is  taking  place  in  a  lesser  degree  in  prac- 
tically all  the  other  large  market  centers  with  reference  'to  deciduous 
fruits  during  the  late  spring,  summer  and  fall  seasons.  Most  people 
engaged  in  the  handling  of  deciduous  fruits  are  decidedly  in  favor  of 
the  auction  system  of  selling,  and  they  seem  to  have  reached  their  con- 
clusion from  long  experience  in  handling  these  shipments  and  getting 

108 


AUCTIONS  109 

them  in  the  hands  necessary  to  save  time  and  expense  in  reaching  the 
consumer. 

Those  who  are  partial  to  the  auction  system  of  selling  point  out  that 
quick  action  is  one  of  the  chief  arguments  in  its  favor.  Of  this  there  can 
be  little  doubt,,  because  it  is  easy  to  see  where  so  many  more  buyers  are 
congregated  at  an  auction  sale  it  is  much  easier  to  arrive  at  some  price 
and  effect  sales  with  little  or  no  delay. 

Another  feature  pointed  out  with  equal  emphasis  is  that  prices  secured 
are  always  such  as  come  near  reflecting  the  actual  value  of  the  commodities 
being  sold.  Here  again  we  must  concede  that  there  is  something  in  the 
argument  set  forth,  for  the  only  way  to  establish  an  auction  price  is  to 
put  one  bid  against  another.  So  long  as  no  favoritism  is  shown  by  the 
auctioneer  towards  one  buyer  as  compared  with  another,  this  fairness 
in  the  matter  of  reaching  a  price  commensurate  with  existing  market 
values  must  be  conceded. 

Again,  it  is  pointed  out  that  the  cost  of  selling  through  the  auction 
plan  is  usually  reduced  to  a  minimum,  ranging  generally  two  to  four 
per  cent  where  any  considerable  line  of  business  is  being  handled.  The 
fact  that  the  auction  people  seem  to  find  these  commissions  profitable 
goes  without  saying.  On  the  other  hand,  it  should  be  considered  that 
they  spend  little  or  no  money  in  getting  their  business  and  it  generally 
happens  they  have  an  enormous  line  of  stuff  placed  in  their  hands  be- 
fore they  make  the  low  rate  of  commission  for  selling. 

Opinions  vary  widely  as  to  the  probable  widest  distribution  afforded 
through  the  plan  of  auction  selling  as  against  private  sale.  Some  people 
will  argue  until  they  are  black  in  the  face  that  the  auction  system  ab- 
solutely secures  the  widest  distribution  possible,  whereas  there  are  others 
who  apparently  can  advance  just  as  plausible  reasons  to  show  that  the 
private  sale  will  secure  a  wider  distribution  than  is  possible  through 
auction  selling.  Perhaps  the  commodity  in  question  has  a  whole  lot  to 
do  with  which  plan  of  selling  is  best  for  wide  distribution  as  well  as  best 
prices.  What  may  be  true  of  one  commodity  may  be  quite  different 
when  it  comes  to  some  other  so  far  as  the  method  of  selling  and  width  of 
distribution  are  concerned. 

In  the  matter  of  handling  Italian  lemons  it  is  altogether  probable  that 
under  any  other  system  than  having  these  lemons  sold  through  auction 
and  having  orders  wired  to  brokers  to  buy,  there  would  be  fewer  lemons 
sold  and,  in  all  probability,  at  lower  prices.  When  a  cargo  is  scheduled 
to  arrive  the  broker,  who  is  on  the  ground  and  who  is  supposed  to  have 
a  fair  working  knowledge  of  the  quality  of  the  fruit  expected,  can 
promptly  advise  his  clients  scattered  all  over  the  country  and  in  little 


110  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

or  no  time  he  is  enabled  to  complete  a  transaction  which  would  other- 
wise require  a  great  deal  of  time  and  would  bring  the  cost  of  the  fruit 
so  much  higher  to  the  consumer  as  to  almost  preclude  anything  like  a 
general  distribution  throughout  the  country.  And  what  applies  to  lemons 
may  be  said  to  apply  also  to  other  commodities  among  fruits  and  vege- 
tables which  we  import  in  quantities. 

Here  and  there  we  find  examples  of  heavy  lines  of  fruit  such  as  peaches 
and  early  apples  which  are  sold  through  auctions  in  the  different  markets 
with  apparently  very  satisfactory  results.  As  stated  before,,  it  is  action 
which  mainly  attracts  those  who  resort  to  the  auction  plan  of  selling. 
And  there  are  times,  of  course,  when  action  is  imperative.  Large  lines  of 
fruit  which  show  ripeness  and  which  must  be  disposed  of  promptly  are 
often  suitable  for  auction  purposes  where  the  purchases  are  to  be  rushed 
out  immediately  to  be  taken  up  by  retailers  or  small  buyers  and  hastened 
on  in  their  last  lap  to  the  consumer. 

Among  other  things  which  might  be  argued  in  favor  of  auction  selling 
where  the  commodity  seems  adapted  to  the  plan  is  that  usually  consider- 
ably more  advertising  of  brands  can  be  had  through  the  auction  catalog, 
and  by  having  the  brands  kept  before  the  buyers  in  the  sample  lines 
of  fruit  displayed  about  the  sales  rooms.  The  very  idea  of  selling  at 
auction  presupposes  a  brand  under  which  the  fruit  is  to  be  packed  and 
sold.  With  a  good  brand  covering  a  good  pack,  the  advertising  value  of 
an  auction  sale  is  no  small  item  in  the  scheme  of  marketing. 

One  thing  I  do  want  to  say  in  this  connection,  however,  is  that  an 
auction,  like  anything  else  connected  with  the  produce  business,  ought 
to  be  operated  honestly  and  along  strictly  legitimate  lines.  The  practice 
of  doctoring  samples  which  happens  here  and  there,  and  too  often  I 
might  say,  ought  never  to  be  practiced.  The  man,  whether  he  be  owner  or 
marketing  agent,  who  will  doctor  a  sample  and  try  to  get  somebody's 
good  money  by  misrepresenting  the  quality  of  what  he  has  to  sell  is 
provided  for  in  preceding  chapters  in  which  I  have  had  something  to 
say  about  the  right  and  the  wrong  of  the  produce  business,  at  least,  as 
I  see  it.  It  is  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  make  the  statement  in  so 
many  words  that  a  sample  put  up  to  show  a  line  of  fruit  ought  to  run 
true  to  the  entire  line.  In  other  words,  it  should  reflect  an  average  of 
quality  and  should  indicate  the  real  conditions  which  a  buyer  might 
reasonably  expect  the  entire  line  to  show  after  he  had  gone  into  the 
salesroom  and  agreed  to  put  up  his  good  money,  with  one  hundred  cents 
in  every  dollar,  for  it. 

And  before  leaving  this  subject  I  want  to  have  just  a  word  or  two 
with  regard  to  rebates  which  are  frequently  paid  to  brokers  by  the  auc- 


AUCTIONS  111 

tion  companies  who  have  the  sale  of  fruits.  This  is  especially  applicable 
to  the  brokers  in  New  York  City  who  buy  the  larger  part  of  the  foreign 
lemons  sold  in  this  country.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  many  of  these 
brokers  in  the  past  have  received  rebates  from  the  auction  people  or 
owners  of  the  fruits.,  and  this  practice  can  hardly  be  defended  on  any 
grounds  of  legitimate  trade.  It  is  a  species  of  graft  pure  and  simple, 
but  it  is  a  question  in  my  mind  whether  the  dealers  over  the  country  who 
have  been  buying  these  lemons,  and  who  are  supposed  to  be  aware  of  the 
real  facts,  will  ever  take  enough  interest  in  the  matter  to  devise  plans 
to  stamp  out  the  practice. 


CHAPTER  XV 

ARE  THE  STORAGES  A  BANE  OR  A  BLESSING? 

The  advent  of  the  cold  storage  some  years  ago  with  many  later  im- 
provements must  be  conceded  as  being  the  beginning  of  a  new  epoch  in 
the  business  of  handling  fruits  and  produce. 

To  be  able  to  store  a  commodity  for  several  months  and  to  keep  it 
under  proper  conditions  so  as  to  be  well  preserved,  and  in  some  cases 
actually  improved  in  quality  for  being  stored,  is  an  advantage  that  must 
be  apparent  even  to  those  who  are  not  actually  identified  with  the  produce 
trade. 

As  a  general  rule  the  public  at  large  has  little  conception  of  the 
magnitude  or  importance  of  the  cold  storage  business.  In  some  quarters 
the  people  have  erroneous  opinions,  and  even  sensible  men  who  figure  in 
our  law  making  bodies  are  often  guilty  of  some  amazing  mistakes  with 
respect  to  the  great  storages  where  refrigeration  and  warehouse  facili- 
ties are  provided  to  take  care  of  and  discharge  the  important  function  of 
conserving  such  a  large  part  of  the  nation's  food  stuffs  every  year. 

Without  aiming  at  a  jump  into  the  middle  of  my  subject,  and  without 
any  intention  of  arriving  hastily  at  a  conclusion,  I  want  to  say  that  the 
cold  storage  industry  is  one  among  the  great  blessings  that  have  been 
developed  in  the  last  half  century  for  the  welfare  of  the  general  public, 
and  I  have  no  hesitancy  in  saying  further  that  the  storages  have  done 
more  good  than  harm,  although  I  do  not  propose  to  shield  them  from 
some  of  their  malpractices  which  may  have  been  found  to  operate 
seriously  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  public  and  to  the  trade,  and  to  the 
positive  detriment  of  the  storages  themselves,  for  there  is  no  doubt  that 
a  lot  of  the  adverse  criticism  and  the  stringent  legislation  aimed  of  late 
at  the  storage  industry  has  come  "from  abuses  that  should  never  have  been 
allowed,  and  which  should  be  corrected  quickly  and  completely. 

It  is  because  of  so  much  criticism  of  this  kind  that  I  have  raised  the 
question  set  out  in  the  caption  of  this  chapter,  and  the  answer  already 

112 


ARE  THE  STORAGES  A  BANE  OR  A  BLESSING?       113 

given  will  be  fully  understood  before  our  survey  of  the  subject  is 
completed. 

Primarily,  the  function  of  refrigeration  as  applied  to  the  fruit  and 
produce  field  is  to  take  care  of  commodities  during  a  period  of  plenty 
and  carry  the  surplus  products  which  may  be  bought  usually  at  lower 
prices  during  the  producing  season  than  afterwards  in  times  of  scarcity 
which  follow  the  surplus  period,  at  which  later  times  storage  goods  are 
supposed  to  be  taken  out  and  sold. 

However,  it  does  not  always  follow  that  storage  goods  will  ever  see 
a  profit  after  they  are  put  away,  and  painful  to  relate,  sometimes  the 
fellow  who  figures  he  has  a  gift  of  prophecy  as  well  as  a  little  ready 
cash,  gets  in  wrong  and  loses  some  of  his  ready  money  as  well  as  fails  to 
reap  some  long  profits  in  the  way  of  speculation. 

Beyond  controversy  one  of  the  worst  influences  to  be  charged  against 
the  storage  industry  is  the  stimulus  it  has  given  to  speculation.  In  fact, 
the  whole  storage  scheme  is  one  of  speculation  just  as  the  business  of 
which  it  is  an  adjunct  is  largely  a  game  of  chance,  as  we  have  already 
seen. 

Nor  do  the  storages  promote  speculation  for  the  fun  of  gambling, 
but  simply  by  virtue  of  doing  business  at  all  and  furnishing  the  service 
they  do.  If  speculation  were  ruled  out  the  storage  game  would  be  a 
side  issue,  whereas  with  the  proposition  as  now  operated  it  is  the  fountain 
head  of  speculation  and  gives  rise  to  more  produce  games  of  chance  than 
one  could  count.  A  little  calm  reflection  will  emphasize  the  truthfulness 
of  this  statement. 

Without  cold  storages  as  now  run  the  egg  deal  would  be  a  joke  during 
about  half  the  year  with  extremely  low  prices  during  periods  of  the 
main  producing  season  and  extremely  high  prices  in  the  winter  when  few 
fresh  eggs  are  to  be  had. 

If  there  were  no  big  storage  warehouses  capable  of  furnishing  zero 
temperatures  month  after  month,  the  butter  deal  would  not  be  possible 
as  we  now  have  it,  and  a  lot  of  fine  creamery  stock  would  almost  cer- 
tainly go  to  waste  every  summer  and  the  public  would  have  little  or  no 
butter  in  the  fall  and  winter. 

Other  lines  such  as  poultry,  apples,  cheese,  game  and  various  other 
articles  would  be  on  the  market  for  only  a  short  while  compared  with 
the  present  system  which  makes  it  possible  to  prolong  the  season  for 
some  articles  indefinitely,  and  to  equalize  supply  and  demand  so  nicely 
as  to  cause  little  fluctuation,  thus  holding  prices  and  values  more  nearly 
on  a  parity  than  would  be  possible  under  the  old  plan  of  throwing  every- 
thing on  the  market  at  one  time,  causing  a  feast  and  'then  a  famine. 


114  PRODUCE   MARKETS   AND  MARKETING 

This  is  apparently  in  conflict  with  the  statement  that  storages  simulate 
speculation.  But  the  facts  are  easily  reconciled  one  with  the  other  when 
we  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  the  service  furnished  by  the  storages  that  pre- 
serves and  protects  fruits  and  produce,  and  thus  gives  them  a  speculative 
aspect,  for  if  they  had  to  be  used  up  all  of  a  sudden  it  would  offer  little 
encouragement  for  speculating.  This  ought  to  be  perfectly  clear. 

Aside  from  acting  as  warehouses  the  storages  sustain  a  dual  function 
to  the  trade  in  negotiating  loans  which  makes  them  a  quasi  banker  for 
their  patrons  who  may  desire  to  obtain  loans  on  goods  stored. 

Most  storages  also  engage  in  the  insurance  business  and  sell  policies 
covering  commodities  stored,  which  policies  are  usually  bought  in  large 
blocks  of  underwriters  and  cut  up  into  smaller  amounts  to  suit  different 
customers. 

Perhaps  no  conclusive  arguments  can  be  offered  against  allowing  the 
storages  to  perform  the  functions  of  banker  and  underwriter,  but  there 
are  numerous  cases  where  both  functions  have  been  abused  to  the  in- 
jury of  the  general  trade  and  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  public. 

In  the  very  nature  of  the  case  when  a  storage  has  become  interested 
in  a  commodity  stored  with  it  by  having  negotiated  a  loan  and  having 
secured  the  value  of  the  commodity  with  an  insurance  policy,  it  follows 
that  a  sort  of  property  interest  has  been  acquired  that  extends  far  be- 
yond the  original  function  of  a  warehouseman,  viz. :  to  furnish  refrigera- 
tion and  warehouse  facilities  necessary  for  the  preservation  and  pro- 
tection of  goods  placed  with  the  storage  for  a  season,  or  a  contracted 
period,  at  a  fixed  rate  for  which  the  actual  goods  may  be  and  usually 
are  held  as  security  until  all  claims  have  been  satisfied. 

Moreover,  the  storages  are  often  called  upon  to  act  as  a  commission 
man  or  agent  for  the  sale  of  goods  for  certain  patrons  who  may  have 
goods  stored,  and  who  may  find  it  more  convenient  and  satisfactory  for 
the  storage  to  look  after  selling  the  goods  at  the  proper  time  than  for 
the  actual  owner  to  attend  to  their  sale. 

Altogether,  these  collateral  functions  the  storages  have  assumed  have 
given  rise  to  that  next  logical  function  which  makes  the  warehouseman  a 
merchant  who  owns  out  and  out  the  goods  he  stores  and  makes  him  a 
direct  competitor  of  his  patron  who  is  buying  and  selling  the  same  line 
of  goods  and  who  places  goods  in  storage  for  safe  keeping. 

It  is  true  many  storage  men  realize  and  admit  that  this  merchandising 
is  an  extreme  step,  and  be  it  said  to  their  credit  there  are  a  few  storages 
that  refrain  from  acting  as  bona  fide  merchants  buying  and  selling  on 
their  own  acount,  at  least,  so  long  as  it  is  possible  for  them  to  keep 
from  so  doing.  Others  are  open  and  above  board  and  buy  and  sell  when 


ARE  THE  STORAGES  A  BANE  OR  A  BLESSING?       115 

they  feel  disposed,  and  when  they  see  a  chance  to  make  a  dollar  even 
if  at  the  expense  of  a  majority  of  their  customers  whose  goods  are  affected 
in  a  large  measure  by  the  manipulations  of  the  warehouses  when  they 
enter  into  the  buying  and  selling  end  of  the  business. 

Frequently  complaint  is  made,  and  rightly  too,  among  the  general 
trade  against  the  merchandise  practice  of  some  of  the  storages,  but  it 
is  difficult  to  find  an  effective  remedy  against  the  practice,  for  the  charter 
of  most  of  these  institutions  seems  to  be  so  broad  as  to  permit  of  their 
doing  pretty  much  as  they  please  about  buying  and  selling.  Even  if  a 
strict  law  or  set  of  regulations  were  enacted  and  enforced  preventing 
storages  from  owning  outright  the  products  stored  in  their  warehouses, 
it  would  be  a  comparatively  easy  matter  to  evade  the  intent  of  such  laws, 
as  some  of  the  foxy  warehousemen  have  already  discovered  that  it  is 
possible  to  take  goods  in  under  the  name  of  someone  else,  but  which  are 
largely  if  not  entirely  the  property  of  the  warehouses  themselves. 

Undoubtedly  the  prevailing  sentiment  among  the  trade  is  that  the  cold 
storage  or  warehouse  should  not  come  into  open  competition  with  its 
patrons  by  the  actual  buying  and  selling  of  goods.  To  such  an  extent 
do  some  people  in  the  trade  go  in  opposing  this  practice  that  they  will 
not  knowingly  patronize  a  storage  that  does  a  merchandise  business.  At 
all  events,  when  storing  goods  they  give  preference  to  such  houses  as 
refrain  from  doing  a  merchandise  business. 

In  the  future  some  corrective  measures  may  be  worked  out  and  en- 
forced that  will  confine  the  storages  to  their  original  functions.  If  such 
a  measure  can  be  found  it  will  be  hailed  with  joy  by  a  majority  of  the 
trade,  and  would,  I  believe,  help  put  the  storages  on  a  better  business 
footing  for  the  future. 

The  storages  cause  enough  speculation  among  the  trade  without  be- 
coming speculators  themselves,  and  there  is  a  well  founded  opinion  that 
the  storage  business  of  itself  is  a  source  of  ample  revenue  when  it  has 
to  do  solely  with  furnishing  proper  refrigeration  and  safe  warehouse 
facilities  at  a  reasonable  cost  to  patrons  in  the  general  trade. 

Still,  the  storage  is  not  immune  from  losses  and  hard  knocks  when 
it  does  a  speculative  business  just  as  is  the  case  with  the  individual,  as 
we  have  seen  in  a  previous  chapter.  It  may  be  that  excessive  specula- 
tion on  the  part  of  some  greedy  warehousemen  will  prove  the  right 
remedy  for  their  merchandise  deals,  which  is  only  another  way  of  trying 
"to  hog"  everything  in  sight. 

In  medicine  there  is  an  old  axiom  to  the  effect  that  like  cures  like. 
Maybe  it  would  also  apply  to  the  storage  business,  for  just  as  the  doctors 
have  to  cope  with  insomnia,  liver  complaint  and  exaggerated  ego,  so 


116  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND    MARKETING 

do  the  cold  storage  warehouses  have  the  same  or  very  slightly  modified 
ailments  to  plague  them,  especially  when  there  is  an  over  indulgence  in 
speculation  or  when  common  sense  rules  are  disregarded  in  trying  to  do 
business,  as  happens  with  warehousemen  when  they  turn  merchants. 
Quite  a  few  of  them  know  their  numbers  without  my  reading  them  out. 

It  is  not  far  to  see  that  there  are  well  defined  limitations  and  liabilities 
to  which  storage  warehouses  are  subject. 

No  one  who  has  gone  over  the  subject  carefully,  and  who  is  in  posi- 
tion to  express  an  impartial  opinion,  can  believe  for  a  moment  that  it  is 
not  best  that  stringent,  but  sensible  regulations  be  prescribed  and  en- 
forced to  keep  storage  warehouses  within  certain  bounds. 

Although  during  the  last  few  years  some  impossible  state  and  munici- 
pal laws  have  been  attempted  in  different  sections  of  the  country  which 
deserved  the  opposition  of  the  storage  men  as  well  as  the  trade  at  large, 
still  it  remains  that  in  nearly  all  cases  where  regulations  even  of  a  mild 
character  are  proposed  it  has  been  true  that  the  warehousemen  have 
opposed  them.  This  attitude  of  the  storages  is  certainly  calculated  to 
cause  suspicion  among  people  who  know  little  of  the  real  facts,  and  adds 
to  the  popular  belief  that  the  public  would  be  better  off  without  cold 
storages  especially,  and  perhaps  without  common  storages  too,  for  the 
average  man  draws  little  distinction  between  the  two. 

In  addition  to  complying  with  certain  requirements  with  respect  to 
equipment,  locations,  etc.  I  feel  sure  that  strict  regulations  should  be 
established  to  fix  a  reasonable  length  of  time  different  commodities  shall 
be  kept  in  storage  under  certain  temperatures  and  conditions  if  they 
shall  afterwards  be  offered  for  sale  to  be  used  for  human  food.  This  is 
too  important  to  be  left  to  haphazard,  and  rigid  inspection  rules  should 
be  established  especially  in  all  storage  centers  so  as  to  condemn  promptly 
all  goods  that  have  so  deteriorated  as  to  be  unfit  for  food  purposes. 

The  reason  I  am  talking  plainly  on  this  subject  is  because  there  have 
been  so  many  grave  abuses  of  privileges  extended  the  storages  in  the 
past  I  shudder  to  think  of  their  repetition  or  continuance,  and  unless 
some  corrective  measures  are  provided  it  is  too  much  to  expect  them  to 
cease,  for  the  warehousemen  are  only  human  and  I  fear  the  instinct  of 
most  men  in  our  day  is  to  swerve  too  far  from  the  public  welfare  when 
there  is  a  sum  of  money  at  stake. 

I  am  fully  convinced  that  it  would  also  be  a  good  plan  to  require  al 
public  warehouses  to  post  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  their  houses  a  certi- 
fied  schedule   or  list  of  their   contents   which   list   should   be  revised   at 
stated  intervals,  and   have   a   sworn   statement   rendered    periodically   to 
proper  public  officials   so  as  to   show  the  time   certain  goods   had   been 


ARE  THE  STORAGES  A  BANE  OR  A  BLESSING?        117 

stored  and  which  were  afterwards  to  be  offered  for  sale  and  used  for 
food  purposes  insofar  as  their  knowledge  would  show.  This  information 
would  be  invaluable  for  the  trade  and  for  the  public. 

I  am  sure  I  have  no  prejudice  in  the  matter  and  that  I  recognize  fully 
the  necessity  for  the  important  services  rendered  the  produce  trade  and 
the  whole  country  by  the  storages,  but  I  cannot  forget  that  the  public 
as  well  as  the  trade  is  entitled  to  a  square  deal  from  the  storages.  And 
J  feel  sure  the  storages  would  be  the  winner  in  the  end  by  having  such 
regulations  in  force  as  would  insure  the  correct  handling  of  all  storage 
products,  for  public  confidence  is  a  valuable  asset  in  conducting  a  ware- 
house nowadays. 

No  one  can  estimate  the  extent  of  injury  done  to  such  articles  as  are 
usually  stored  unless  he  gets  in  close  touch  with  the  consuming  public, 
and  notes  the  aversion  the  average  housewife  has  for  those  "awful  storage 
goods." 

Of  course,  there  are  a  lot  of  fake  practices  necessary  to  hoodwink  the 
public  into  using  storage  products  under  the  guise  of  being  fresh,  "just 
from  the  dear  old  farm  with  the  dew  on  them."  I  am  fully  convinced 
this  is  all  wrong  and  I  believe  that  it  would  be  best  if  storage  goods 
were  obliged  to  be  sold  as  such.  For  example,  if  the  general  public  were 
alive  to  the  fact  that  the  best  eggs  are  those  produced  in  March,  April 
and  May,  and  that  these  eggs  can  be  carried  under  proper  refrigeration 
until  Christmas,  there  would  be  an  astonishing  difference  in  the  way 
"cooler"  eggs  are  consumed.  But  how  many  people  eat  storage  eggs  as 
such  ? 

If  people  were  acquainted  with  the  truth  that  butter  is  even  better 
for  having  been  kept  under  proper  refrigeration  and  that  if  the  quality 
is  good  it  can  be  maintained  almost  indefinitely,  it  is  useless  to  say  the 
thoughts  of  "cold  storage"  butter  would  ever  cause  the  average  citizen 
to  turn  up  his  nose  at  a  tub  of  superb  June  extras  in  mid  winter  and 
result  in  his  buying  some  oleo  instead. 

"But,"  somebody  says,  "it  would  require  an  educational  campaign  to 
convince  the  public  of  its  errors  in  opinions  of  this  kind." 

To  such  I  would  reply:  All  reasonable  demands  in  educating  the 
public  should  be  met.  It  would  cost  some  money  and  take  possibly  con- 
siderable time,  it  is  true,  but  the  investment  would  be  worth  while. 

Sure,  there  are  lots  of  soreheads  in  the  trade  who  proceed  on  the 
theory  that  the  public  wants  to  be  flim-flammed,  and  they  apparently 
think  it  the  proper  caper  to  do  as  much  snide  business  as  possible.  But 
I  think  it  safe  to  say  such  men  are  too  insignificant  even  to  draw  my  fire. 
They  are  such  as  are  constantly  getting  into  trouble  for  their  crookedness 


118  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

and  no  doubt  have  enough  worry  without  my  provoking  them  further. 
But  I  do  want  to  add  that  such  men  do  a  lasting  injury  to  the  handling 
of  storage  goods  by  just  such  shortsightedness,  and  this  lack  of  integrity 
has  been  the  main  factor  in  bringing  cold  storage  products  into  disrepute. 
Such  influence  will  have  to  be  counteracted  before  a  remedy  can  be 
applied.  ' 

The  proper  length  of  time  to  fix  as  a  limit  for  different  commodities 
to  remain  in  storage  under  certain  conditions  is  a  matter  that  only  ex- 
perienced people  should  undertake  to  say. 

It  is  not  guess  work,  however,  for  there  are  tests  that  can  be  applied 
with  unerring  accuracy,  and  which  will  show  if  food  products  are  unfit 
for  taking  into  the  human  system.  There  is  no  use  killing  time  with  any 
argument  as  to  whether  a  limit  could  and  should  be  fixed  for  all  food 
products  to  remain  in  storage  and  afterwards  to  be  put  on  sale. 

The  matter  resolves  itself  into  a  question  of  "can"  and  "must"  in 
my  judgment,  for  I  feel  that  some  day  an  outraged  public  will  make  it 
worth  while  for  the  storages  to  clean  up  and  be  decent  as  well  as  to  use 
a  little  diplomacy  and  strategy  in  opposing  and  defeating  laws  in  which 
the  general  trade  as  well  as  the  public  should  be  interested. 

Already  a  number  of  the  level  headed  storage  men  are  taking  the 
broader  view  of  matters  and  are  free  to  admit  that  some  regulations 
should  be  provided  for  the  public's  protection  in  the  handling  of  storage 
products,  for  they  know  the  American  people  like  fair  play  and  are 
usually  willing  to  pay  a  fair  price  for  an  article  of  good  quality  whether 
it  came  from  a  cold  storage  or  from  a  furnace. 

But  people  have  an  aversion  to  being  cajoled  into  buying  what  they 
do  not  want,  and  especially  when  false  pretenses  are  resorted  to  in  order 
to  make  them  buy. 

Naturally,  it  takes  much  time  and  study  to  get  a  great  industry  under 
way.  It  also  requires  much  costly  experimenting.  This  is  exactly  the 
case  with  the  field  of  refrigeration,  for  it  was  comparatively  a  visionary 
scheme  a  half  century  ago  as  compared  with  the  well  nigh  perfect  systems 
on  which  they  are  run  today,  at  least  from  a  mechanical  point  of  view. 

It  would  be  a  startling  revelation  to  some  people  even  in  the  trade, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  average  man  outside,  to  learn  that  some  of  the 
larger  storages  sometimes  have  as  much  as  $2,500,000  out  among  cus- 
tomers in  loans  and  advances  on  goods  stored.  When  one  considers  there 
are  around  fifty  big  institutions  of  this  kind  in  the  country,  besides  a  few 
hundred  plants  of  lesser  magnitude,  some  idea  can  be  drawn  about  what 
the  business  implies.  Yet  the  storage  industry  is  a  new  business  com- 
paratively speaking. 


ARE  THE  STORAGES  A  BANE  OR  A  BLESSING?       119 

In  view  of  the  extent  and  importance  of  the  subject  I  think  it  is  all 
the  more  necessary  for  the  storages  to  be  justly  but  completely  regulated 
in  a  reasonable  way.  Further  research  will  probably  be  worth  while 
before  rigid  limits  are  fixed  for  different  articles  to  be  kept  under  re- 
frigeration. But  when  it  is  established  that  a  certain  time  is  to  be  the 
limit  it  should  prevail  in  all  cases. 

State  boards  of  health,  as  well  as  numerous  city  health  officers,  have 
tried  from  time  to  time  to  get  measures  passed  to  prevent  the  storage 
of  undrawn  poultry,  when  as  a  matter  of  fact  that  is  the  only  way  it  can 
be  properly  kept.  But  it  should  not  be  kept  too  long,  and  there  should 
be  heavy  penalties  to  prevent  stuff  that  has  been  in  the  coolers  overtime 
from  going  out  to  the  consuming  public. 

The  same  applies  to  all  other  commodities  of  similar  perishable 
character. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

CREDITS  AND  DISCOUNTS 

Whoever  has  had  occasion  to  watch  the  average  run  of  business  men 
handling  produce  will  readily  agree  that  credit  is  entirely  too  cheap 
among  most  of  the  trade. 

It  seems  to  be  a  kind  of  maxim  that  anybody  is  as  good  as  anybody 
else  so  long  as  he  pays  good  money  for  what  he  buys.  In  truth,  this 
version  is  correct  so  far  as  it  goes,  but  it  will  not  pan  out  in  practice 
when  it  comes  to  extending  credit  indiscriminately  through  book  accounts 
or  otherwise. 

During  the  past  several  years  I  have  had  occasion  to  observe  a  num- 
ber of  instances  where  retail  fruit  dealers  as  well  as  retail  handlers  of 
dairy  products,  and  in  fact,  all  other  kinds  of  produce,  deliberately  set 
up  and  beat  the  wholesale  trade  out  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars 
in  the  aggregate.  As  a  general  rule  they  open  a  small  place  and  are 
prompt  in  settling  their  bills.  As  soon  as  a  line  of  credit  has  been 
established  and  the  confidence  of  the  wholesale  trade  has  been  gained  it 
appears  to  be  the  general  rule  that  the  retailer  who  is  so  disposed  can 
make  a  clean-up  that  represents  what  he  would  be  glad  to  have  as  a 
year's  profit  on  a  legitimate  business  similar  in  extent  to  what  he  is 
supposed  to  be  conducting. 

Gross  carelessness  in  extending  credit  to  those  irresponsible  retailers 
only  invites  disaster,  and  hundreds  of  wholesale  dealers  and  jobbers 
have  awakened  to  the  fact  that  nothing  short  of  complete  co-operation 
for  mutual  protection  can  prevent  losses  from  this  source.  Undoubtedly 
the  system  of  handling  credit  information  through  an  association  whose 
secretary  issues  a  sheet  every  week  showing  delinquents  is  a  sensible 
method  of  dealing  with  matters  of  this  kind.  The  experience  of  the 
trade  in  various  markets  where  a  good  credit  association  is  in  operation 
shows  conclusively  that  losses  caused  by  extending  credit  to  irresponsible 
parties  is  reduced  to  a  minimum  which  is  incredibly  small  when  compared 

120 


CREDITS  AND  DISCOUNTS  121 

with  the  enormous  volume  of  business  done, — hence  the  system  may 
be  considered  almost  perfect.  No  credit  system,  however,  is  better  than 
its  worst  member,,  for  it  is  alone  due  to  the  information  given  out  by 
tverv  individual  member  that  protects  the  whole  membership. 

The  retail  dealer  who  knows  that  he  is  being  watched  from  every  side, 
and  that  any  irregularity  in  the  settlement  of  his  bills  or  obstinacy  on 
his  part  is  duly  noted  and  reported,  will  usually  think  twice  before  he 
will  engage  in  sharp  practices  if  he  intends  to  stay  in  business  long, 
and  even  if  a  retailer  is  of  migratory  habits  and  squats  down  at  one 
place  only  long  enough  to  swindle  the  wholesale  trade,  he  finds  the  well 
organized  credit  association  about  the  worst  obstacle  he  can  confront 
when  he  tries  to  put  his  plans  into  execution. 

Therefore,  the  credit  association  serves  as  an  excellent  protection 
both  from  the  standpoint  of  the  delinquent  customer  in  the  settlement  of 
his  bills  and  also  in  keeping  the  crafty  retailer  from  traveling  from 
town  to  town  at  the  expense  of  the  wholesale  trade. 

Too  much  emphasis,  however,  cannot  be  laid  upon  the  importance  of 
establishing  and  maintaining  an  association  to  regulate  credits  so  that 
it  will  include  in  its  membership  every  wholesaler  in  a  market  if  possible, 
and  also  devise  such  plans  as  will  make  every  member  live  up  to  his 
obligations.  For  example:  When  a  retail  dealer  is  delinquent  it  should 
be  the  bounden  duty  of  the  party  he  owes  to  make  a  report  showing  such 
to  be  the  case,  and  every  other  member  should  refuse  positively  to  extend 
such  delinquent  further  credit  until  he  has  paid  what  he  owes  or  has 
made  satisfactory  arrangements  to  settle.  Fidelity  to  his  obligations 
on  the  part  of  every  member  is  the  keystone  on  which  the  whole  asso- 
ciation arch  must  rest  so  as  to  provide  a  remedy  to  regulate  credits  and 
insure  a  maximum  of  protection  to  the  entire  membership.  If  properly 
worked  the  results  are  little  short  of  marvelous. 

But  not  all  the  trouble  found  in  handling  credits  is  to  be  regulated 
by  an  association.  Credits  extended  in  making  purchases  at  shipping 
points  under  the  bank  guarantee  plan  are  equally  as  perilous  if  not 
more  so  than  handling  the  retail  trade  in  distributing  produce.  I  take 
it  that  when  money  or  its  equivalent  is  advanced  or  surrendered  to 
another  party  with  the  expectation  of  an  equivalent  value  at  some  sub- 
sequent time,  that  the  transaction  is  one  which  comes  well  within  the 
boundary  of  our  present  discussion. 

Bank  guarantees  given  in  payment  for  goods  bought  at  shipping  sta- 
tion on  f.  o.  b.  sales,  amount  to  little  more  or  less  than  a  reckless  handling 
of  credits  which  is  calculated  to  demoralize  business  and  perhaps  lead 
to  the  utter  ruin  of  those  who  indulge  in  the  pastime  of  having  "your 
bank  wire  our  bank"  etc. 


122  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

Of  course,  if  the  goods  bought  are  all  right  and  if  the  consignor  is  all 
right  there  is  no  trouble,  but  unfortunately  the  history  of  such  trans- 
actions do  not  lend  much  encouragement  to  those  who  are  disposed  to 
extend  credit  in  this  fashion.  I  think  it  cannot  be  successfully  denied 
that  the  proper  remedy  for  this  reckless  system  is  to  divide  the  responsi- 
bility between  the  buyer  and  seller  when  the  bank  guarantee  is  used, 
and  make  the  payment  of  such  guarantees  contingent  upon  the  actual 
delivery  of  goods  as  represented  at  destination  and  make  them  subject 
to  destination  inspection  under  direction  of  a  competent  third  party. 
This  plan  is  especially  indicated  where  two  parties  trading  are  un- 
acquainted. 

Among  certain '  classes  of  trade  in  recent  years  there  have  been  far 
too  many  cases  where  unreasonable  discounts  or  allowances  have  been 
made  especially  by  the  jobbing  trade  in  filling  shipping  orders.  Often 
when  checks  are  sent  in  settlement  of  invoices  there  is  a  notation  that  a 
certain  amount  has  been  "taken  off." 

Competition  among  jobbers  has  been  responsible  largely  for  this  state 
of  affairs  and  no  doubt  the  country  merchants  and  retailers  in  small 
towns  have  been  encouraged  to  a  large  extent  in  this  questionable  practice, 
and  the  readiness  of  the  average  jobber  to  allow  these  discounts  helps 
to  salve  the  conscience  of  the  crooked  retailer  that  may  be  willing  to 
pay  a  fancy  price  when  buying  if  he  is  allowed  a  fancy  discount  when  lie 
settles.  A  little  common  sense  and  concerted  effort  among  jobbers  is 
about  all  that  is  necessary  to  dispose  of  such  practices  as  this.  Already 
jobbers  have  taken  the  matter  up  in  some  sections  and  by  sticking  to- 
gether have  been  able  to  have  their  invoices  paid  promptly  and  with 
practically  no  set  offs.  When  clear  receipts  are  signed  for  goods  upon 
delivery  why  should  any  concessions  be  made  in  settling  for  them? 

Often  rebates  have  been  resorted  to  as  an  inducement  for  trade,  but 
have  been  found  a  poor  stimulant  for  business,  and  the  sooner  the  prac- 
tice is  abandoned  the  better  for  all  concerned.  The  buyer  who  will  pay 
list  prices  provided  he  gets  a  rebate  of  from  one  to  five  per  cent  is  not 
the  most  desirable  customer  whether  he  is  buying  for  himself  individually 
or  whether  he  is  purchasing  supplies  for  others.  Rebates  as  commonly 
understood  amount  to  little  more  or  less  than  graft,  and  there  is  small 
excuse  for  them  in  modern  business.  The  individual  or  firm  that  takes 
a  rebate  will  give  one  and  will  frequently  take  an  additional  step  if  it  is 
necessary  to  accomplish  their  ends. 

The  trouble  with  the  rebate,  as  with  all  other  inducements  designed 
to  secure  new  trade  or  to  hold  old  customers,  is  that  they  are  only  a 
makeshift  which  amount  to  nothing  in  ihe  last  analysis,  for  if  one's 


MARYLAND    PEACHES A    STRING    OF    PEACHES    NEARLY    A    MILE    LONG 


THE    OTHER   END    OF    THE   LINE WHERE    CARS  ARE    LOADED    FOR   SHIPPING 


CREDITS  AND  DISCOUNTS  123 

competitor  meets  one's  concessions  in  the  way  of  prices  it  is  hard  to 
see  if  any  advantage  has  been  gained  or  lost  by  either  party  compared 
with  the  conditions  before  the  extra  concession  or  inducement  was  made. 
If  anything.,  both  competitors  are  injured. 

For  example:  If  oranges  are  selling  at  $3.50  per  box  and  a  rebate 
of  five  per  cent  is  being  allowed  by  A,  it  can  readily  be  seen  that  B, 
.  who  sells  the  same  oranges  at  $3.50  without  a  rebate  will  lose  business  to 
A.  But  as  soon  as  B  wakes  up  to  the  real  situation  and  makes  his  re- 
bate five  per  cent  also,  it  is  quite  apparent  that  both  dealers  or  jobbers 
are  in  precisely  the  same  relation  to  each  other  as  competitors  that  they 
sustained  prior  to  the  time  the  rebate  was  fixed  upon.  But  they  are  both 
worse  off  for  their  price  cutting. 

In  handling  credits  and  discounts  it  frequently  develops  that  con- 
fidence is  misplaced.  Men  who  were  believed  to  be  upright  and  who 
were  extended  credit  and  the  usual  courtesies  in  business,  frequently 
show  themselves  up  to  be  only  one  of  the  ordinary  kind  of  callous  in- 
dividuals who  smiles  when  something  is  being  handed  to  him  and  frowns 
when  he  has  to  give  up  something. 

To  be  able  to  handle  credits  intelligently  it  requires  an  expert  in 
charge  of  that  branch  of  the  business,  and  I  strongly  advise  having  one 
man  in  each  jobbing  house  devote  much  of  his  time,  if  not  quite  all  to 
the  subject  where  sufficient  business  is  done  to  justify  it. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  I  want  to  advise  strongly  against  taking 
long  odds  in  handling  credits.  If  you  know  a  retailer  or  any  buyer  is 
doubtful,  by  no  means  invite  your  own  loss  by  extending  him  more 
credit  than  he  should  have.  I  am  fully  aware  that  in  many  cases  long 
chances  have  been  taken  and  no  loss  has  resulted,  but  it  is  undoubtedly 
true  that  enough  losses  have  been  incurred  where  indiscriminate  credit 
has  been  extended  to  make  it  worth  while  to  exercise  great  care  in 
handing  over  one's  goods  to  an  unscrupulous  scamp,  maybe  a  plain 
huckster,  without  some  form  of  security  other  than  his  word,  which  itself 
is  probably  spoken  in  broken  English. 

Many  dealers  have  paid  dear  for  their  experience  in  handling  credits 
and  there  is  no  doubt  but  the  future  generation  of  fruit  jobbers  and 
wholesalers  will  be  able  to  profit  materially  by  some  of  the  mistakes  of 
their  predecessors.  I  incline  to  the  opinion  that  some  of  the  wise  ones 
in  the  next  generation  will  prefer  to  have  articles  of  produce  decay 
now  and  then  and  be  sent  to  the  dump  in  preference  to  handing  them 
over  to  someone  else  who  sells  them,  pockets  the  money  and  goes  on  a 
tour  for  his  health,  and  who  is  enabled  to  continue  this  practice  in- 
lefinitely  because  of  the  stupid  way  credits  are  often  handled  by  the 


124  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

wholesale  arid  jobbing  trade  in  trusting  Tom,  Dick  and  Harry  for  what- 
ever they  want  to  buy  on  their  own  terms. 

It  has  been  aptly  pointed  out  by  some  that  credit  will  always  be 
easy  in  the  fruit  and  produce  field,,  because  the  trade  is  forced  to  sell 
goods  to  whoever  wants  to  buy. 

In  a  way  there  is  some  truth  in  this  claim,  especially  when  markets 
are  oversupplied  and  when  it  is  imperative  that  goods  be  moved  as 
speedily  as  possible.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  a  great  deal  of  trouble 
and  money  could  be  saved  if  dealers  would  use  a  bit  more  caution  in 
allowing  the  light  weight  operators  to  load  up  heavily  just  because  they 
are  ready  to  take  on  supplies. 

Frequently  peddlers  or  retailers  jump  into  the  market  and  by  their 
actions  as  good  as  tell  the  wholesalers  they  are  in  for  a  clean  up.  Yet 
it  seems  as  a  general  thing  nobody  pays  any  heed  to  the  danger  signal, 
and  it  usually  follows  there  is  a  missing  face  within  a  day  or  two  along 
the  row,  or  at  its  accustomed  hang  out. 

How  many  Italian  villas  and  how  many  sumptuous  mansions  in  the 
Isles  of  Greece  are  being  maintained  from  funds  procured  in  this  way, 
we  can  only  surmise. 

But  there  are  those  in  the  trade  who  have  good  reasons  for  supposing 
they  have  contributed  enough  to  rebuild  Rome  and  restore  Greece. 

And  as  long  as  present  methods  are  followed  in  making  credit  so 
easy  we  shall  have  clean-ups  and  more  clean-ups.  Lots  of  small  buyers 
who  can  buy  their  "heads  off"  in  whatever  market  they  happen  to  be 
near,  should  be  held  strictly  to  cash  and  if  most  of  them  were  handling 
any  other  line  of  business  than  produce  they  would  be  held  to  a  cash 
basis. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  cast  any  reflection  upon  the  foreigners  in  the 
produce  line,  or  to  say  a  word  against  the  small  dealer,  but  unless  they 
represent  some  assets  or  have  some  backing  I  maintain  that  it  is  folly 
to  encourage  them  to  beat  the  trade  as  so  often  happens  by  extending 
them  an  opportunity  to  jump  out  and  buy  a  heavy  line  of  goods  and  skip 
after  sacrificing  their  purchases. 

Another  matter  I  have  in  mind,  and  which  may  properly  receive  a 
bit  of  attention  in  this  connection  is  the  shield  afforded  by  our  national 
bankruptcy  law  to  those  who  misuse  credit  and  violate  confidences  in  the, 
trade  nearly  every  day. 

It  would  be  hard  to  imagine  any  single  factor  which  has  served  to 
make  credits  so  uncertain  as  this  very  law,  which  I  am  sorry  to  say 
is  a  blot  on  our  commercial  escutcheon  in  this  country. 

How  easy  it  seems  for  a  fellow  to  go  out  and  get  other  people's  money 


CREDITS  AND  DISCOUNTS  125 

tied  up  in  various  deals,  maybe  salted  away  wholly  or  in  part,  and  then 
go  into  court  and  have  his  hands  washed  of  all  obligations,  and  which 
washing  process  permits  him  to  go  ahead  much  the  same  as  before. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  the  intent  of  the  law  is  good,  but  in  practical 
application  it  comes  about  as  nearly  putting  a  premium  upon  dishonesty 
in  seeking  and  using  credit  accommodations  as  anything  I  could  imagine. 

Hundreds  of  cases  have  I  seen  in  fruit  and  produce  circles  where 
heavy  losses  have  been  saddled  upon  people  where  there  were  indications 
only  too  clear  to  the  eye  of  a  business  man  that  there  was  "something 
rotten  in  Denmark." 

Possibly  the  criminal  phase  of  this  law  has  never  been  properly  in- 
voked. But  generally  speaking,  those  who  find  they  have  got  to  de- 
pend upon  collecting  5cfo  to  20  %  of  the  amount  of  their  claim's  value 
in  a  bankruptcy  proceeding  seem  to  figure  that  it  is  a  waste  of  time 
to  even  attend  court. 

Here  is  where  the  crook  has  a  great  advantage.  He  has  your  money 
and  the  law  actually  upholds  him  until  you  dig  up  some  evidence  upon 
which  a  prosecution  might  be  based. 

It  does  not  seem  quite  fair,  and  the  movement  among  the  National 
Association  of  Credit  Men  to  accumulate  a  fund  to  investigate  all  bank- 
ruptcy cases  and  prosecute  vigorously  where  fraud  is  discovered,  is 
certainly  deserving  of  the  support  of  the  trade  at  large  as  well  as  the 
business  public  generally. 

The  scoundrel  who  sets  out  for  an  escapade,  acknowledges  he  will  lie 
for  commercial  purposes,  brow  beats  and  four  flushes  his  way  until  he 
is  several  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  "the  bad," — withal  maybe  money 
salted  away — and  files  a  petition  in  bankruptcy,  gets  up  and  sheds 
crocodile  tears,  saying  he  has  simply  played  in  "hard  luck,"  but  with 
people  knowing  the  MAN,  as  they  knew  one  notable  character  in  Chicago 
a  few  years  ago  to  be  anything  but  an  angel — should  be  made  an  ex- 
ample of  and  I  say  such  fellows  should  be  wearing  stripes. 

The  records  of  most  bankruptcy  cases  almost  make  a  man  want  to 
take  a  shot  gun  and — go  snipe  shooting. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

EVILS  IN  THE  TRADE  THAT  NEED  CORRECTION 

I  admit  that  I  approach  this  subject  with  some  degree  of  timidity, 
for  it  is  always  more  easy  to  point  out  defects  than  to  find  a  proper 
remedy  for  existing  evils  and  bad  practices, — more  easy  to  be  critical 
than  to  be  correct. 

But  there  are  so  many  aggravated  cases  that  come  up  constantly  which 
show  that  there  are  certain  disorders  among  the  produce  trade  which  are 
badly  in  need  of  correction  I  hardly  refrain  from  offering  a  few  sugges- 
tions for  troubles  that  have  tended  to  make  losses  and  break  that  con- 
fidence upon  which  all  satisfactory  dealing  must  rest. 

It  is  cowardly  to  evade  our  own  faults  and  sometimes  equally  cowardly 
to  pass  unnoticed  those  of  others.  Men  in  the  trade  who  want  to  de- 
vote their  efforts  to  the  betterment  of  conditions  often  seem  afraid  to  take 
the  initiative,  and  seem  to  be  content  that  things  should  continue  as  they 
are  running. 

To  remedy  evils  perhaps  requires  a  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  someone. 
Those  who  are  broad  enough  and  progressive  enough  to  undertake  a  solu- 
tion of  long  standing  disorders  should  have  the  support  and  sympathy 
of  the  better  class  of  people  in  and  out  of  the  trade  in  trying  to  create 
a  sentiment  that  will  support  a  movement  looking  to  the  general  improve- 
ment of  trade  conditions. 

Heretofore,  in  handling  preceding  questions  in  this  volume  it  lias 
been  "^served  that  people  in  the  produce  business  are  probably  no  worse, 
if  no  btc  er,  than  men  in  other  walks  of  life.  Therefore,  it  is  no  reflec- 
tion on  the  trade,  as  such,  to  say  that  plain  dishonesty  is  the  cause  of 
most  troubles  and  is  responsible  for  a  majority  of  losses  of  money  and 
some  friendships  among  those  whose  lot  is  cast  with  the  various  branches 
of  the  produce  business. 

Of  course,  dishonesty  is  a  broad  term  and  it  must  be  dissected  and 
analyzed  if  its  import  and  mischief  are  to  be  fully  comprehended. 

126 


EVILS  IN  THE  TRADE  THAT  NEED  CORRECTION    127 

Neither  time  nor  space  in  this  volume  or  outside  will  permit  of  formulat- 
ing a  code  of  rules  that  will  suffice  to  govern  every  form  of  dishonesty, 
for  its  manifestations  are  infinite  and  its  symptoms  are  legion.  We 
have  observed  in  a  previous  chapter  that  conscience  is  usually  a  safe 
guide  to  determine  what  is  right.  But  there  are  those  who  sometimes 
seem  incapable  of  drawing  the  right  conclusion  even  after  a  protracted 
conference  with  their  inner  selves.  It  is  most  likely  true  that  when 
conscience  has  been  seared  by  a  hot  iron  it  is  incapable  of  performing 
its  normal  function.  But  if  there  are  those  in  the  trade  whose  con- 
sciences cannot  be  depended  upon  to  distinguish  between  plain  cases  of 
right  and  wrong,  and  if  their  reason  is  so  deficient  as  to  fail  to  dis- 
criminate between  "mine"  and  "thine,"  it  is  no  doubt  best  that  such 
people  be  placed  in  a  sanitarium  and  treated  for  kleptomania. 

But  it  is  sometimes  the  case  that  errors  of  the  head  are  confused  with 
errors  of  the  heart.  A  commission  man  who  encourages  consignments 
when  he  knows  or  should  know  that  he  is  powerless  to  make  good  his 
quasi  promise  so  far  as  prices  are  concerned,  may  shirk  responsibility 
if  there  is  a  bad  break  and  losses  are  incurred  by  the  plain  declaration 
that  he  was  honest  in  his  predictions  about  market  conditions,  and  that 
if  he  gave  out  wrong  information  it  was  not  intentional.  There  are 
numerous  cases  where  this  screen  has  been  made  use  of  and  where  there 
was  a  preponderance  of  evidence  showing  there  was,  at  least,  criminal 
ignorance  on  the  part  of  the  commission  man  in  soliciting  heavy  shipments 
when  the  market  outlook  did  not  justify  the  line  of  information  he  sent 
out  about  market  prospects. 

In  a  way  this  comes  under  the  same  general  head  as  overquotations. 
But  the  plain  overquotation  or  high  bid  for  produce  is  a  clear  cut  case 
of  an  error  of  the  heart;  whereas,  the  wrong  kind  of  dope  on  market 
prospects  may  be  due  to  bad  judgment  on  the  part  of  the  firm  or  in- 
dividual who  may  be  responsible  for  it  and,  therefore,  an  error  of  the 
head. 

Inasmuch  as  losses  may  be  incurred  by  shippers  from  either  kind  of 
error,  and  since  the  losses  are  positive  in  both  cases,  the  shipper  may  not 
be  able  or  disposed  to  draw  a  very  clear  distinction  between  the  two. 

The  proper  remedy  for  an  error  of  the  heart,  where  there  is  unmis- 
takable evidence  of  fraud,  is  the  same  as  should  be  applied  for  the  plain 
kind  of  dishonesty  we  find  in  the  highway  robber.  By  this  I  mean,  there 
should  be  legal  redress  and  the  limit  of  punishment  under  the  law  should 
be  applied  to  all  out  and  out  cases  of  crookedness. 

How  best  to  deal  with  real  errors  of  the  head  no  man  can  say.  But 
I  believe  that  it  would  be  an  excellent  plan  if  some  system  could  be  pro- 


128  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

vided  for  a  rigid  examination  for  all  those  in  the  trade  who  essay  to 
offer  their  services  to  the  public  as  agents  or  factors  for  handling  fruits 
and  produce  for  the  account  of  others,  and  a  license  should  be  given  only 
to  those  who  make  a  creditable  showing  in  an  examination  properly  con- 
ducted by  duly  constituted  authorities,  and  those  who  lack  such  honesty, 
skill  and  judgment  as  ought  to  be  part  and  parcel  of  every  commission 
man's  make-up  should  be  made  to  refrain  from  doing  business.  Per- 
haps some  such  regulations  should  be  provided  as  would  make  it 
impossible  for  such  unskilled  and  incompetent  fellows  as  we  occasionally 
run  across  to  continue  to  operate  except  under  strict  supervision  of  the 
authorities. 

I  am  fully  aware  that  by  offering  such  a  suggestion  I  am  liable  to  be 
charged  with  being  revolutionary,  and  some  may  take  the  ground  that 
such  regulations  would  be  unreasonable  or  maybe  unconstitutional.  But 
how  about  such  regulations  in  other  lines  ?  Once  upon  a  time  almost 
anybody  could  try  his  hand  at  practicing  medicine.  What  was  the 
result?  The  quack  finally  killed  so  many  people  that  the  public  \vas 
compelled  to  take  some  precautions  about  allowing  every  jack-leg  to 
administer  physic.  Even  the  lawyers  have  to  be  admitted  to  the  bar 
after  a  prescribed  course  of  study,  and  surely  there  is  no  walk  of  life 
where  the  inexorable  rule  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest  is  in  more  re- 
lentless operation  than  in  the  legal  profession.  Yet  they  are  not  per- 
mitted to  begin  in  their  work  until  they  show  suitable  fitness. 

Again,  civil  engineers  have  to  spend  long  years  of  study  in  prepara- 
tion for  their  work;  the  trained  agriculturist  or  horticulturist  must  do  an 
infinite  amount  of  preparation  to  be  in  line  with  modern  conditions.  But 
any  dub  who  has  the  hunch,  and  a  little  ready  cash  to  get  a  lot  of  morn- 
ing glory  stationery  printed  (this  is  highly  essential  these  days)  can 
style  himself  a  "commission  merchant,"  and  who  can  say  him  nay? 

The  better  element  in  the  trade,  which  certainly  predominates,  should 
take  a  keen  interest  in  providing  some  remedy  so  as  to  make  it  harder 
for  every  Tom,  Dick  and  Harry  to  put  up  a  big  sign  and  begin  opera- 
tions, mostly  on  hot  air.  A  movement  of  the  right  kind  backed  by  the 
whole  trade  would  go  a  long  way  towards  removing  the  stigma  which 
attaches  to  the  word  "commission  merchant"  in  some  sections  of  the 
country. 

Intelligent  men  cannot  be  sincere  if  they  doubt  that  my  plan  to  have 
a  state  license  for  commission  men  is  perfectly  feasible.  Is  not  the  com- 
mission merchant  as  much  a  public  servant  as  an  undertaker?  Now- 
adays the  undertakers  must  be  licensed.  I  am  sure  most  shippers  would 
prefer  to  be  handled  right  while  alive  by  a  licensed  public  servant  than 


EVILS  IN  THE  TRADE  THAT  NEED  CORRECTION    129 

to  wait  until  they  are  dead,  maybe  starved  to  death  by  bad  losses  from 
shipping  incompetent  and  dishonest  commission  houses  that  could  and 
should  be  put  out  of  business  in  due  course  of  law.  For  such  houses  are 
a  nuisance  and  an  eye-sore  to  the  trade  and  the  general  public  as  well, 
where  they  show  an  utter  lack  of  such  knowledge  and  principle  as  is  nec- 
essary to  handle  shipments  of  fruits  and  produce  as  they  should  be.  I  sub- 
mit that  these  ''lame  ducks"  should  be  eliminated  from  the  commission 
field,  and  the  sooner  the  better.  I  advance  no  opinion  about  the  probable 
number  of  so-called  commission  men  that  would  be  frozen  out  under  a 
rigid  license  system,  but  there  are  a  number  of  them  who  would  not  be 
able  to  make  the  proper  showing  if  the  correct  test  were  applied.  I  shall 
take  up  this  proposition  for  further  treatment  in  a  latter  chapter. 

In  foregoing  chapters  attention  has  been  called  to  the  evils  of  padding 
.sales,  jealous  and  insane  competition  among  dealers,  cutting  commissions, 
rebating  and  the  get-rich-quick  fever,  etc.  Reference  is  only  made 
to  them  again  in  this  connection  so  that  we  may  not  forget  them,  and 
I  desire  to  reiterate  that  they  are  crying  evils  which  ought  to  be  sup- 
pressed. Some  further  remedies  may  be  suggested  for  their  treatment 
later  on. 

There  is  one  other  evil  I  want  to  refer  to,  and  I  find  I  have  neglected 
to  list  a  gentleman  that  perhaps  should  have  been  introduced  in  the  first 
chapter  when  we  were  defining  the  general  trade. 

I  refer  to  "Peter  Ruby."  He  is  the  straw  man  of  the  produce  busi- 
ness and  he  usually  gets  his  fine  Italian  hand  at  work  when  car  lots 
are  made  up  by  several  shippers  and  sent  to  one  market,  the  cars  con- 
taining various  packages  of  goods  for  different  houses.  Such  shipments 
are  usually  looked  after  by  a  general  consignee  who  works  for  a  small 
fee  paid  by  shippers  whose  purpose  is  to  secure  a  lower  transportation 
rate  by  shipping  in  car  lots  than  can  be  had  on  less  than  car  lots. 

"Peter  Ruby"  is  the  man  for  whose  account  a  shipment  is  sold  when 
it  is  checked  out  and  delivered  from  the  warehouse,  car  or  wharf  by 
mistake  to  the  wrong  house,  or  at  least  to  a  house  other  than  the  one 
for  which  it  was  intended.  Sometimes  "Peter"  is  traced  down,  sometimes 
he  escapes.  It  is  needless  to  say  he  was  conceived  in  dishonesty  and 
thrives  on  trickery. 

Egotism  is  another  evil  that  has  made  headway  among  the  trade  here 
and  there.  Possibly  it  would  be  better  to  diagnose  this  trouble  as  plain 
swell  head.  I  should  be  the  last  fellow  in  Christendom  to  argue  that 
everybody  in  the  trade  should  not  haw  due  self  respect,  and  recognize 
the  important  service  to  the  general  public  that  is  rendered  by  the  trade. 
But  I  fail  to  see  where  there  is  warrant  for  the  blata'nt  arrogance  one 


130  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

finds  now  and  then  in  certain  individuals  identified  with  growing,  ship- 
ping and  marketing  produce.  I  know  these  self  appointed  grandees  are 
comparatively  rare  in  the  trade,  but  they  are  far  too  numerous  when 
measured  by  the  "valuable  service"  they  discharge  in  the  general  order  of 
business  affairs.  I  regret  that  during  several  years'  observation  among 
the  general  trade  I  have  beheld  a  few  disgusting  examples  that  make 
it  necessary  to  refer  to  this  nauseating  minority,  and  were  it  not  people 
out  of  the  trade  are  likely  to  measure  the  personnel  of  the  whole  trade 
by  this  cod  fish  nobility  I  should  pass  this  matter  unnoticed.  Robert 
Burns  perhaps  did  not  have  them  in  mind  when  he  wrote  "O,  wad  to 
God  some  gift  to  gae  us  to  see  oursels  as  others  see  us,"  but  nothing  could 
be  more  applicable.  In  short,  humility  is  a  virtue  that  is  little  known 
among  some  classes  of  the  trade,  who  are  little  known  themselves  out- 
side of  a  limited  few. 

Before  I  am  voted  a  rabid  fault  finder  I  might  draw  the  veil  on  this 
subject.  But  I  have  one  more  evil  that  I  want  to  call  attention  to,  and 
in  doing  this  I  think  I  can  lay  claim  to  a  bit  of  originality. 

Did  it  ever  occur  to  anyone  else  that  in  all  probability  a  great  many 
other  evils  in  the  .trade  are  caused  in  a  large  measure  from  the  surround- 
ings of  commission  men?  To  make  myself  clear,  I  refer  to  the  places 
of  business,  the  stores,  the  offices  and  the  location  of  many  produce 
houses  in  various  markets. 

Upon  my  word,  I  only  speak  of  some  places  where  produce  is  sold  as 
"stores"  through  courtesy.  Buildings  that  offend  instead  of  please  from 
an  architectural  standpoint,  that  appear  to  have  been  constructed  with 
no  aim  at  sanitation;  that  are  foul  and  stuffy,  and  are  better  for  housing 
plunder  than  for  handling  produce,  are  considered  by  a  few  grasping 
landlords  as  being  the  very  yarn  for  a  produce  dealer.  It  is  amazing 
what  excessive  rents  are  paid  for  some  of  these  shacks  one  runs  across 
here  and  there. 

I  break  into  this  subject  in  all  reverence  for  the  finer  feelings  of 
those  people  who  may  be  domiciled  in  some  of  these  pig  pens.  Before 
moving  another  peg,  however,  I  want  to  go  on  record  by  saying  a  few  of 
the  best  people  I  ever  met  in  the  trade,  or  out  of  it,  were  quartered  in 
some  of  these  grimy  places.  And  before  moving  another  peg  I  shall 
have  to  add  a  further  statement  to  the  effect  that  many  of  the  worst 
specimens  of  produce  sharks  I  ever  ran  across  were  ensconced  in  joints 
of  this  kind.  A  further  statement  I  must  make  leads  to  my  conclusion: 
the  surroundings,  the  atmosphere,  the  general  influence  of  such  places 
are  bound  to  leave  their  effects  upon  those  who  are  daily  under  their 
spell.  The  effect  is  positive  and  it  cannot  be  evaded.  The  good  people 
in  foul  dens  either  die  young  or  move  to  better  quarters. 


EVILS  IN  THE  TRADE  THAT  NEED  CORRECTION     131 

Hold  on,  gentle  reader, — I  am  still  on  terra  firma.  You  may  suppose 
I  have  gone  sailing  among  the  clouds.  But  to  convince  you  that  I  am 
still  in  possession  of  my  senses,  I  want  to  whisper  that  I  know  as  well 
as  you  that  in  handling  poultry,  veal,  eggs,  potatoes,  onions,  etc.  and 
some  other  kinds  of  produce  it  is  a  hard  matter  to  keep  perfectly  clean. 
Yes,  I  know  that  as  well  as  you.  But  I  submit  that  I  have  been  through 
a  fertilizer  factory  that  was  almost  perfect  in  its  equipment,  and  had 
very  few  stray  odors  floating  around  outside  of  certain  rooms.  There 
are  lots  of  the  better  class  of  produce  houses  where  they  keep  reason- 
ably clean  and  they  handle  plenty  of  business  too.  A  mistaken  idea 
seems  to  have  got  into  some  minds  that  the  handling  of  fruits  and  prod- 
uce is  essentially  a  nasty  business.  I  cannot  agree  to  the  proposition 
at  all. 

May  I  say  it  in  print!  I  fear  some  men  in  the  trade  have  become 
afflicted  with  a  disease  from  staying  day  after  day,  year  after  year  in 
ill  adapted,  insanitary  stores  and  offices ! 

I  am  averse  to  theory  as  a  general  proposition,  but  I  believe  in 
psychology,  for  it  is  true  gospel.  This  great  science  of  the  mind  teaches 
and  proves  that  what  we  associate  with  for  a  long  while  we  absorb  and 
it  becomes  a  part  of  us.  This  is  a  fact  not  because  psychology  teaches 
it,  but  we  know  it  is  true  from  actual  experience.  Honest  men  run  a 
great  risk  by  accepting  chances  to  impair  their  moral  fibre  when  they 
submit  to  doing  business  in  a  dinky  little  den  or  basement,  badly  lighted 
and  with  worse  ventilation  which  allows  foul  odors  to  accumulate  and 
concentrate  so  as  to  be  nauseating  to  an  outsider  upon  going  in,  provided 
he  is  accustomed  to  God's  sunlight  and  fresh  air. 

I  know  this  evil  is  not  so  easily  disposed  of  as  might  be  imagined. 
But  in  the  light  of  decency  and  common  sense  I  submit  that  it  is  an  evil 
of  the  rankest  kind,  and  some  remedy  should  be  worked  out  and  applied 
with  a  gentle  hand  if  possible,  but  with  an  iron  hand  if  necessary. 

High  rents  in  the  larger  cities  where  the  evil  is  most  prevalent,  is  of 
course,  the  main  difficulty  in  the  way  of  larger  and  better  quarters  for 
all  the  trade.  However,  there  has  been  too  much  haphazard  in  selecting 
the  average  produce  district  and  in  constructing  the  buildings  to  be  used. 
So  far  as  possible  uniformity  should  prevail  in  the  character  and  size 
of  buildings,  but  all  quarters  need  not  be  of  the  same  size.  If  one  firm 
could  not  use  all  of  a  medium  size,  decent  store,  the  unused  space  could 
be  rented  to  someone  else.  There  is  no  good  reason  why  better  facilities 
cannot  be  had.  The  main  trouble  has  been  too  many  men  have  been  care- 
less in  this  respect  and  have  not  figured  out  that  economy  in  rents,  where 
morals  are  involved,  not  only  may  be,  but  actually  is,  sheer  folly  and 


132  *  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

extravagance.  Another  thing  in  favor  of  more  modern,  sanitary  stores 
and  offices  is  the  fact  that  more  business  can  be  handled  in  a  shorter 
time  with  much  less  trouble  and  expense.  A  man's  efficiency  cannot 
have  full  play  except  under  proper  influences.  Cleanliness  is  one  of 
them. 

Surely,  the  produce  business  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  make  it 
worth  while  to  have  every  good  man  in  good  quarters.  If  I  were  a 
shipper  and  intended  to  do  business  with  a  commission  man  I  would  either 
pay  him  a  visit  and  inspect  his  surroundings  or  else  ask  him  to  have 
them  photographed  at  my  expense  and  send  me  the  pictures.  If  they 
looked  suspicious  or  had  a  "sour  smell"  I  would  side  step  any  business 
with  him. 

On  the  other  hand  if  I  were  a  buyer,  the  way  I  would  pass  up  a  fine 
line  of  stuff  at  cut  prices  if  I  had  to  hold  my  nose  and  bark  my  shins 
to  buy!  Two  to  one  I  would  prefer  paying  a  little  better  price  some 
place  else. 

Do  you  realize  there  are  more  and  more  people  looking  at  the  matter 
in  this  way  every  day? 

Hasn't  the  trade  the  right  to  insist  upon  decent  surroundings  in  which 
to  work?  Those  who  stop  for  a  moment's  reflection  can  hardly  make  a 
wrong  answer, 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

• 

LEGISLATION  RELATING  TO  AND  AFFECTING  THE  TRADE 

In  a  large  measure  the  fruit  and  produce  business  is  like  necessity, 
for  it  knows  no  law.  So  diversified  and  scattered  are  the  various  factors 
and  interests,  and  so  irregular  and  uncertain  are  the  seasons  and  con- 
ditions that  it  is  very  difficult  to  make  things  happen  after  a  fixed  plan, 
which  is  necessary  to  comply  with  the  requirements  of  rigid  statutes  or 
court  decisions. 

But  laws  are  supposed  to  surround,  permeate  and  govern  everybody 
and  everything.  Quite  true  it  is  that  there  are  important  and  specific 
laws  relating  to  and  affecting  the  trade,  although  many  of  them  are 
honored  more  in  the  breach  than  in  the  observance. 

In  view  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  just  referred  to,  and  the  con- 
stant changes  and  varied  conditions  incident  to  the  handling  of  produce, 
it  is  a  debatable  question  if  a  code  of  written  laws  can  be  relied  upon  to 
secure  that  which  all  law  holds  paramount,  viz.:  equal  and  exact  justice 
among  all  men.  Were  it  possible  for  a  sufficiently  high  order  of  intelli- 
gence to  prevail  among  the  trade,  equity,  which  is  higher  than  the  writ- 
ten law,  ought  to  govern  instead  of  trying  to  apply  an  inflexible  statute 
providing  "that  John  Doe  shall  or  shall  not  do  certain  things,  and  if  he 
does  or  does  not  do  as  the  law  prescribes  he  shall  be  subject  to  certain 
fixed  penalties,  etc." 

In  a  former  chapter  we  have  observed  that  it  is  often  a  hard  matter, 
in  some  cases  at  least,  for  the  courts  to  determine  what  is  right  and  what 
is  wrong,  and  we  have  also  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  conscience 
exercised  as  a  function  of  a  normal  intellect  is  the  safest  and  most  speedy 
guide  in  affairs  relating  to  the  produce  business,  or  in  shaping  the  gen- 
eral conduct  of  individuals  or  aggregations  of  individuals. 

Conscience,  however,  as  we  have  also  observed,  may  become  inert  and 
useless  when  seared  with  a  "hot  iron,"  as  we  read  about  in  the  writings 
of  the  Apostle  Paul.  But  I  must  say  that  my  observations,  extending 

133 


334  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

over  several  years  and  coming  in  touch  with  several  thousand  individuals 
in  the  trade,  lead  me  to  believe  that  the  percentage  of  people  both  in  and 
out  of  the  trade  who  cannot  rely  on  conscience  as  being  a  safe  moral 
guide  is  small  indeed. 

Provided  a  set  of  laws  could  be  framed  that  would  cover  every  wrong 
and  provide  a  suitable  remedy,  and  which  would  contemplate  every  con- 
tingency that  might  arise  in  the  produce  business,  and  which  might  be 
elastic  enough  in  their  application  so  as  to  excuse  an  offender  who  could 
plead  reasonable  mitigating  circumstances,  and  which  at  the  same  time 
could  be  invoked  in  all  of  their  severity  to  punish  the  confirmed  crook 
who  gives  himself  over  bodily  to  wrong  doing  for  the  love  of  it,  such 
regulations  would  be  a  boon  to  the  produce  trade,  and  would  be  entitled 
to  high  rank  in  the  judicial  as  well  as  in  the  business  world. 

But  the  very  difficulty  of  making  a  law  which  would  be  severe  enough 
to  punish  some  persistent  offenders,  and  yet  mild  enough  to  excuse  some 
others  who  may  be  offenders  through  accident  or  sheer  ignorance,  is  at 
once  the  main  difficulty  in  regulating  the  produce  business  strictly  from 
a  legal  point  of  view. 

It  is  infinitely  to  be  preferred  that  a  healthy  sentiment  be  created 
among  the  trade  which  puts  a  premium  on  honest  dealing  instead  of  try- 
ing to  provide  a  series  of  legal  safeguards  and  remedies.  No  law  or  set 
of  laws  have  ever  made  a  bad  man  good,  but  some  laws  which  were  de- 
signed for  the  moral  uplift  and  protection  of  humanity  have  made  some 
reasonably  good  men  seem  bad  when  their  conduct  is  measured  solely 
after  statutes  and  court  decisions. 

Of  course,  present  laws,  admittedly  more  or  less  imperfect,  are  in- 
finitely better  than  no  laws  at  all,  for  it  is  only  the  fear  of  the  law  that 
keeps  some  men  in  the  produce  trade  from  being  worse  than  they  are. 
The  main  trouble  with  wholesome  and  desirable  laws  that  are  aimed 
at  regulating  fruit  and  produce  matters  is  that  they  are  not  always  fear- 
lessly and  impartially  enforced.  This  failure  is  perhaps  not  so  much 
the  fault  in  the  laws  as  the  officers  of  the  law  and  the  courts.  But  the 
lack  of  such  provisions  in  a  law  as  to  secure  its  enforcement  is  a  defect 
that  must  needs  be  charged  against  the  law  itself.  Instead  of  a  whole- 
some respect  for  and  a  loyal  obedience  to  the  law  among  officials  in  this 
country,  there  is  often  a  disposition  to  adroitly  make  certain  provisions 
inoperative  and  useless. 

Primarily,  the  relation  sustained  between  a  commission  merchant  and 
a  shipper  of  fruits  and  produce  is  that  of  principal  and  agent  or  factor. 
This  relation  is  one  of  ancient  origin  and  is  in  general  operation  among 
all  civilized  peoples,  I  believe.  For  a  fee  in  the  form  of  a  commission 


LEGISLATION  RELATING  TO  TRADE  135 

generally  computed  on  a  percentage  basis  a  service  is  extended  by  the 
agent  or  factor  in  buying  or  selling  certain  articles  as  arranged  between 
the  principal  and  agent,  or  else  as  determined  by  the  custom  of  a  market 
or  as  applied  universally  in  handling  a  given  commodity.  Where  the 
agent  or  factor  fails  to  do  his  duty  or  is  guilty  of  keeping  back  more 
than  his  rightful  pay  for  his  services,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  a  legal  remedy 
should  be  provided  and  speedily  enforced  when  necessary. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  in  actual  practice  the  average  com- 
mission man  assumes  the  role  of  an  arbitrary  umpire  from  whose  de- 
cision there  is  often  little  recourse  or  appeal  when  an  error  or  wrong  is 
alleged  and  its  correction  is  sought. 

A  shipper  may  argue  that  his  goods  were  of  a  certain  quality  and  that 
ruling  market  prices  entitle  him  to  certain  returns.  He  is  politely  in- 
formed, we  will  assume  (and  the  writer  has  observed  many  similar  cases), 
that  he  has  been  paid  every  penny  his  goods  brought,  less  the  actual 
transportation  for  their  carriage  to  market  and  the  commission  arising 
from  their  sale.  If  extreme  steps  are  taken  and  litigation  is  resorted 
to  for  adjustment,  the  shipper  usually  finds  he  has  his  pains  for  his 
trouble  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred,  for  it  is  generally  an  easy 
matter  to  fortify  the  commission  man's  position,  whether  right  or  wrong, 
unless  of  course,  there  is  a  palpable  case  of  fraud.  We  leave  out  of 
count  the  question  as  to  whether  the  shipper  or  commission  man  is  in  the 
wrong. 

In  calling  attention  to  this  state  of  affairs  it  will  be  unnecessary,  I  hope, 
for  me  to  say  that  it  is  not  my  aim  to  cast  any  insinuations  on  the  trade 
at  large,  but  I  merely  lead  up  to  what  I  have  in  mind  and  the  point  I 
set  out  to  make,  viz. :  Some  safeguard  ought  to  be  provided  alike  for  the 
honest  commission  merchant  against  unjust  accusations,  and  for  the 
relief  of  the  anxious,  and  maybe  unfortunate  shipper,  who  may  not  suffer 
as  much  as  he  supposes,  but  who  should  have  a  form  of  protection  that 
could  co-operate  with  his  factor  or  agent  in  convincing  him  that  no  undue 
advantage  is  being  taken  of  him  in  the  sale  of  his  property. 

What  would  be  fair  so  as  to  secure  a  "square  deal"  for  all  parties  con- 
cerned? Could  a  national  law  be  passed  that  would  provide  a  proper 
inspection  service  applying  to  all  shipments  at  destination  and  also  pro- 
vide for  the  complete  auditing  of  records  kept  by  commission  men?  If 
so,  would  the  adoption  of  such  a  system  be  practical  in  everyday  affairs  ? 

After  considerable  thought  on  the  subject  I  am  of  the  firm  opinion  that 
a  federal  statute  should  be  provided  to  regulate  commission  men  and  their 
commissions  if  a  law  of  this  character  can  be  enacted  and  enforced.  I 
am  confident  that  no  remedy  short  of  a  national  law  can  ever  accomplish 


136  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

the  desired  ends.  We  have  already  seen  that  commission  men  easily  fall 
under  the  classification  of  quasi-public  servants,  for  their  services  are 
usually  open  to  any  shipper.  From  a  common  sense  point  of  view  the 
commission  man  must  be  regarded  an  important  factor  in  supplying  the 
nation  with  food  stuffs.  His  trust  is  one  in  which  the  public  is  vitally 
concerned  directly  and  indirectly.  So  much  of  his  business  is  of  an  in- 
terstate character  that  no  legislation  short  of  a  federal  statute  could  have 
the  desired  effects  in  regulating  matters  now  complained  of,  and  in  deal- 
ing intelligently  with  new  troubles  that  may  come  up  later.  If  a  federal 
statute  of  this  kind  could  be  had  it  would  be  well,  in  order  to  make  the 
system  thoroughly  effective,  that  the  various  states  pass  laws  parallel 
with  the  national  law,  at  least,  in  essential  features.  Some  able  lawyers 
who  have  looked  into  the  plan  do  not  doubt  its  feasibility. 

It  would  be  highly  desirable  to  have  a  uniform  system  of  accounting 
adopted  everywhere  after  the  simplest  and  most  approved  plans  pos- 
sible, and  provide  for  regular  auditing  of  records  under  government  sup- 
ervision where  fruits  and  produce  are  handled  on  the  consignment  plan, 
provided  the  business  is  placed  under  federal  regulation. 

Inspection  of  goods  on  arrival  at  destination,  especially  in  all  the 
larger  markets,  under  this  plan,  should  be  made  compulsory,  not  only 
for  the  protection  of  consignors,  but  for  the  protection  of  the  general 
public  as  well,  as  it  is  about  the  only  way  to  cope  successfully  with  the 
impure  food  problem,  which  is  still  a  problem  in  this  country.  The  re- 
sults under  the  federal  meat  inspection  act  have  been  so  good  that  it  is 
only  a  short  step  to  all  other  food  stuffs,  particularly  of  a  highly  perish- 
able nature.  Such  inspection  would  not  necessarily  complicate  the  hand- 
ling of  all  legitimate  business. 

I  know  that  many  people  in  the  trade  will  oppose  bitterly  the  proposi- 
tion I  make,  and  some  will  declare  the  idea  as  being  crazy.  But  it  should 
be  recalled  that  the  big  meat  packers  assumed  the  same  attitude  towards 
the  meat  inspection  law  before  it  was  passed  and  were  found  fighting 
the  proposition  to  the  last  ditch.  The  trouble  with  many  men  in  the  trade 
is  that  they  want  absolutely  no  provisions  made  to  regulate  the  produce 
business  except  as  each  individual  man  or  firm  may  make  and  then  be  al- 
lowed to  break  as  often  as  he  or  they  wish  or  dare.  Perhaps  it  is  not 
going  too  far  to  say  that  the  sooner  such  men  are  brought  to  realize  that 
they  are  in  need  of  some  regulation  the  better  it  will  be  for  the  trade 
at  large. 

Too  long  it  has  been  the  case  that  matters  have  run  along  in  a  hap- 
hazard fashion  in  the  fruit  and  produce  business.  Lack  of  proper  regu- 
lation is  in  a  large  measure  responsible  for  a  great  deal  of  the  aimless 


MARKETING    SCENES    IN    DELAWARE THE   ELBERTA   PEACH    IS   IN    ITS   GLORY   AND 

THE   MULE   THRIVES   LIKE   THE   GREEN    BAY  TREE 


LEGISLATION  RELATING  TO  TRADE  137 

and  dangerous  speculation  we  run  across  so  often.  I  am  sure  it  is 
utterly  useless  to  waste  words  in  arguing  that  it  is  not  only  feasible,  but 
highly  necessary  for  governmental  regulation  of  a  great  many  if  not  all 
produce  affairs.  At  least,  certain  broad  requirements  under  federal  reg- 
ulation should  be  complied  with. 

The  main  reasons  for  such  a  system  is:  First,  Because  it  is  the  only 
plan  that  is  comprehensive  enough  to  be  effective.  Second,  A  constantly 
increasing  element  is  to  be  found  in  this  country  who  have  not  the  proper 
respect  for  any  regulation  short  of  that  enforced  by  the  general  govern- 
ment. Third,  Conditions  demand  some  safeguards  for  the  handling  of  the 
enormous  volume  of  business  after  the  most  approved  system,  which  can 
be  best  worked  out  by  government  agents  in  co-operation  with  the  best 
people  in  the  trade  so  as  to  secure  maximum  profits  in  handling  business 
after  a  modern,  uniform  system.  Fourth,  The  information  obtained  about 
fruits  and  produce  handled  under  governmental  regulation  would  be  of 
inestimable  value  to  the  various  government  departments,  and  to  the 
whole  people  as  well,  as  much  vital  data  could  be  acquired  about  the  re- 
sults of  growing  and  shipping  certain  varieties  of  fruits  and  vegetables, 
and  also  the  volume  of  business  in  certain  commodities,  about  the  nature 
and  extent  of  which  little  is  known  at  the  present  time.  Besides,  there 
are  other  additional  good  reasons  why  the  general  government  should 
concern  itself  in  produce  matters,  and  I  feel  that  public  sentiment  will 
develop  to  the  point  in  a  comparatively  short  time  that  a  popular  demand 
will  call  for  some  action  along  this  line.  It  cannot  come  too  soon,  and 
I  say  this  as  a  thoroughly  impartial  observer  of  the  manner  of  handling 
this  business  as  it  is  now  conducted. 

To  go  back  to  the  commission  man  as  an  agent,  we  find  that  there  are 
laws  in  all  the  states  providing  certain  penalties  for  failure  of  commis- 
sion men  to  do  or  not  to  do  certain  things  as  prescribed  by  law. 

In  a  majority,  if  not  in  all  the  states,  it  is  a  criminal  offense,  punish- 
able as  a  felony,  for  a  commission  merchant  to  fail  or  to  refuse  to  make 
due  accounting  and  send  all  net  proceeds  to  all  shippers  for  all  goods  en- 
trusted to  him  to  sell.  It  is  a  fact  nevertheless  that  this  law  is  often  vio- 
lated, for  it  is  frequently  true  that  it  costs  more  to  collect  money  justly 
due  than  the  amount  involved  is  worth,  and  this  fact  often  prevents  proper 
action  to  obtain  redress  even  when  shippers  have  a  just  grievance.  The 
national  government  can  weed  out  crooks  and  help  put  the  produce  busi- 
ness on  the  higher  commercial  plane  on  which  it  should  rest.  There  is 
no  way  of  elevating  the  business  as  it  should  be  except  to  make  it  difficult 
if  not  impossible  for  crooks  to  reap  an  easy  harvest^  either  from  a  sys- 
tematic campaign  of  stealing  a  little  here  and  there,  or  from  making  a 


158  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

plunge  in  a  short  while  and  then  skipping  out  to  repeat  the  same  trick 
some  place  else. 

Among  recent  pieces  of  legislation  that  have  interested  the  produce 
public  is  the  so  called  national  rate  bill  to  which  reference  has  been  made 
in  a  former  chapter.  Undoubtedly,  the  rate  law  is  good  as  far  as  it  goes/ 
but  it  is  hardly  sufficient  to  accomplish  the  desired  ends  unless  amended. 
Transportation,  as  we  have  already  seen,  is  one  of  the  most  vital  factors 
in  the  produce  business  as  well  as  in  every  other  line  of  commercial  ac- 
tivity. No  one  in  the  trade  who  has  had  occasion  to  observe  the  methods 
of  railroads,  express  companies  and  the  various  boat  lines,  can  doubt 
for  a  moment  that  these  great  agencies  should  be  under  strict  govern- 
mental regulation  which  will  secure  proper  service  at  a  reasonable  cost. 
Proper  legislation  is  the  only  means  the  trade  has  to  bring  about  this 
desired  result,  and  as  new  conditions  arise  demanding  changes,  no  time 
should  be  lost  in  securing  such  amendments  to  the  rate  law  and  to  other 
laws  as  may  be  found  necessary.  Possibly  a  new  scheme  of  regulation 
will  be  required,  and  maybe  some  far  reaching  measures  will  have  to  be 
resorted  to  before  the  trade  at  large  can  get  such  treatment  as  it  should 
and  must  have  in  the  future. 

In  different  states  various  trade  organizations  have  interested  them- 
selves along  with  the  business  public  generally  in  having  state  laws 
passed  providing  for  reciprocal  demurrage.  These  laws  relate  to  trade 
matters  and  affect  the  produce  business  vitally.  There  is  no  reason 
why  the  trade  at  large  should  not  endorse  and  demand  reciprocal 
demurrage.  It  is  a  good  form  of  insurance  against  unnecessary  delays 
in  shipping. 

When  railroads  fail  or  refuse  to  provide  che  necessary  equipment 
to  move  perishable  traffic  they  should  be  forced  to  pay  the  losses  result- 
ing from  such  carelessness  or  inefficiency  in  their  operations.  In  states 
where  laws  of  this  character  are  in  force  it  is  found  they  help  more  speed- 
ily to  secure  such  proper  transportation  facilities  as  should  be  provided. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  trend  of  sentiment  over  the  country  in 
reference  to  cold  storages  and  the  expression  of  popular  feeling  which 
has  been  crystalized  in  various  city  and  state  laws  as  have  been  pro- 
posed during  the  past  few  years.  Practically  all  of  these  regulations 
have  been  aimed  at  the  storages  apparently  on  the  mistaken  theory  that 
they  are  public  nuisances.  Reference  has  been  made  to  this  subject  al- 
ready, and  it  has  been  seen  that  the  storages  really  assume  the  same  at- 
titude with  the  rest  of  the  trade  when  it  comes  to  passing  any  rules  for 
their  regulation.  They  oppose  them  from  sheer  force  of  habit. 

I  am  of  the  opinion  that  just  and  reasonable  laws  governing  storages 


LEGISLATION  RELATING  TO  TRADE  139 

should  be  demanded  and  supported  by  the  trade  at  large.  These  houses 
occupy  much  the  same  relation  to  the  public  as  commission  men.,  and  it 
might  not  be  amiss  for  the. general  government  to  have  surveillance  over 
the  cold  storages  also,  for  most  products  kept  in  storages  go  into  inter- 
state traffic.  I  am  afraid,  however,  the  chief  aim  of  many  of  the  city 
ordinances  and  state  laws  which  have  been  proposed  for  the  regulation 
of  cold  storages  has  been  to  seriously  interfere  with  their  legitimate  func- 
tions and  have  not  been  as  fair  as  they  should  in  their  provisions  towards 
restrictions  that  are  sometimes  unnecessary,  and  that  are  perhaps  too 
exacting.  Many  of  these  laws  have  doubtless  been  conceived  as  "sand 
bag"  measures  and  dropped  as  soon  as  certain  grafting  politicians  had 
gotten  up  a  "jack  pot"  from  interested  parties. 

In  a  work  of  this  kind  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  even  refer  briefly  to 
the  legal  phase  of  all  matters  in  which  the  trade  is  interested.  Frequently 
it  is  necessary  to  resort  to  the  courts  to  establish  one's  rights  under  the 
law.  In  all  such  cases  a  conference  should  be  had  with  a  reliable  attor- 
ney for  advice  or  assistance.  A  good  lawyer  is  absolutely  necessary  in 
most  cases  to  protect  one's  rights  when  no  redress  or  satisfaction  can  be 
had  except  by  going  to  law.  One  other  suggestion  I  want  to  offer:  When 
you  find  a  good  lawyer  do  not  fail  to  show  the  proper  appreciation  for 
his  services.  Do  not  consider  because  he  demands  a  stiff  fee  that  his 
services  are  too  costly,  for  it  is  generally  the  case  that  the  high  priced 
lawyer  is  the  cheapest  after  all. 

Avoid  litigation  whenever  possible,  but  when  it  is  necessary  to  go 
into  court,  do  so  with  a  determination  to  win,  provided  you  are  in  the 
right,  and  nobody  should  get  into  court  as  a  plaintiff  in  a  civil  suit  unless 
he  is  in  the  right. 

As  the  principle  of  arbitration  becomes  better  understood  it  will  be 
more  popular,  and  will  take  the  place  of  a  great  deal  of  expensive  and 
uncalled  for  litigation. 

A  few  good  laws  strictly  enforced  are  better  for  the  trade  and  the 
public  than  a  complex  maze  of  legal  verbiage  that  too  often  means 
nothing,  and  if  one  now  and  then  means  something,  to  have  to  resort  to 
the  higher  courts  to  discover  what  that  meaning  may  be. 


CHAPTER    XIX 

PRODUCE  AND  PATRIOTISM 

Just  as  patriotic  impulses  are  inspired  from  contemplating  noble  deeds 
of  sacrifice  or  heroic  service,  so  are  lofty  feelings  awakened  by  those  in 
the  produce  trade  who  have  made  possible  the  successes  of  others  by 
themselves  achieving  success. 

It  would  make  interesting  reading  if  a  series  of  true  biographical 
sketches  of  the  real  leaders  of  thought  and  action  in  the  trade  were 
properly  put  together  showing  the  far  reaching  influences  here  and  there 
that  have  been  exerted  on  trade  affairs,  possibly  for  all  time  to  come,  by 
these  whole  souled,  patriotic  fellows  who  have  often  labored  for  the 
cause  of  the  entire  trade  when  they  were  apparently  working  for  them- 
selves alone.  Occasionally  we  find  these  bold  mariners  turning  their 
keels  into  unsailed  and  uncharted  seas,  and  there  are  cases  where  some  of 
these  ships  are  still  at  sea  with  no  tidings  to  show  if  they  are  freighted 
down  on  their  return  with  rich  cargoes  of  merchandise,  or  if  they  have 
been  left  derelict  after  being  robbed  and  maybe  scuttled  by  pirates. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  go  into  details  and  print  names  of  the  men 
who  have  been  bold  enough  and  patriotic  enough  to  launch  out  trying  to 
discover  new  empires  to  exploit,  to  find  new  fields  to  develop,  not  alone 
for  their  benefit  but  for  the  welfare  of  others  also,  for  no  patent  or  copy- 
right can  be  secured  on  the  average  produce  discovery,  although  it  is 
made  after  considerable  outlay  of  money  and  much  worry,  and  the  bene- 
fits accruing  are  eventually  shared  by  everybody  in  the  trade. 

But  with  some  folks  produce  matters  make  a  poor  compound  with 
patriotic  principles.  One  is  sordidly  narrow  to  them;  the  other  must 
be  joyously  broad  if  it  exists  at  all.  With  such  people  the  spirit  of  co- 
operation is  a  feeling  they  know  little  about.  When  patriotism  had  no 
place  in  the  trade  was  prior  to  the  discovery  that  certain  evils  could  be 
dealt  with  and  overcome,  or  at  least  alleviated,  best  by  concerted  action, 
instead  of  going  on  the  ancient  theory  that  every  man  can  always  fight 

140 


PRODUCE  AND  PATRIOTISM  HI 

his  battles  alone.  As  men  become  more  intelligent  they  are  naturally 
broader  and  more  patriotic  in  their  views. 

Education  is  evolution.  Conditions  surrounding  the  trade  today  were 
undreamt  of  fifty  years  ago.  The  wonderful  strides  that  have  taken 
place  in  other  lines  of  business  during  the  past  few  years  have  their 
parallel  in  the  great  fruit  and  produce  industry.  With  all  this  progress 
has  come  responsibility,  and  responsibility  implies  certain  duties  that 
are  largely  patriotic  services  in  their  last  analysis. 

I  wonder  if  it  has  never  occurred  to  a  majority  of  people  that  all 
men  engaged  in  the  growing,  shipping  and  selling  of  produce  are  not 
actuated  solely  by  the  dollar  in  doing  the  work  they  have  in  hand.  Quite 
true  it  is  that  many  men  in  the  trade  have  yet  to  learn  that  there  is  a 
great  world  outside  their  own  little  sphere  of  business,  and  even  beyond 
that  there  is  a  boundless  universe  of  feeling  and  action. 

As  a  man  or  a  set  of  men  become  broader  and  deeper  they  become  bet- 
ter, perhaps  not  so  much  from  a  strictly  orthodox  standpoint  as  from  a 
humanitarian  point  of  view,  for  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  higher  stand- 
ards among  produce  people  have  stimulated  a  keener  sympathy  for  one 
another's  ills,  and  has  given  rise  to  a  genuine  appreciation  of  one  an- 
other's true  worth  and  importance. 

Any  business  that  is  conducted  on  the  plan  of  every  fellow  for  himself 
and  the  devil  take  the  hindmost,  is  sure  to  produce  a  class  of  men, 
narrow,  selfish,  and  a  menace  instead  of  a  blessing  to  the  whole  body 
politic.  While  there  are  a  few  men  in  the  trade  who  have  not  caught 
the  modern  spirit  that  bids  them  wish  others  a  share  of  the  success  they 
hope  for  themselves,  and  which  extends  good  cheer  to  others,  and  who 
may  fail  to  understand  that  their  obligations  involve  some  idea  of 
patriotic  service  as  well  as  a  bare  means  of  making  a  living,  the  num- 
ber of  such  unfortunates  is  certainly  being  reduced  to  a  decreasing 
minority. 

To  be  a  successful  produce  man  in  any  branch  of  the  trade  one  must 
be  broad,  if  not  deep,  and  usually  those  who  are  broad  have  but  another 
step  to  take  in  order  to  be  deep,  in  thought,  feeling  and  action.  A  busi- 
ness that  extends  all  over  the  country  and  that  necessarily  brings  one  in 
touch  with  so  many  different  kinds  of  people,  ought  to  be  an  excellent 
exercise  to  develop  the  higher  and  nobler  instincts  of  one's  nature,  to 
bring  one  to  a  full  realization  of  his  obligations  not  only  to  himself  but  to 
others  also.  In  truth,  the  breadth  of  the  business  is  calculated  to  make  a 
man  broad,  and  therefore  better,  if  he  will  but  encourage  his  power  of 
vision  and  give  play  to  his  finer  sensibility.  Instead  of  allowing  the  rim 
of  the  dollar  to  obscure  his  horizon,  he  should  betake  himself  to  a  moun- 


142  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

tain  top  and  look  out  over  a  fair  land  that  is  strewn  with  gems  and 
adorned  with  flowers  for  his  enrichment  and  pleasure  if  he  will  only 
prepare  himself  for  their  enjoyment  and  seek  them  out. 

No,  gentle  reader,  I  am  not  talking  about  star  gazers  or  rainbow 
chasers.  I  have  reference  to  the  different  phases  of  the  fruit  and  produce 
trade.  Observe  it  calmly;  it  is,  indeed,  a  sublime  aggregation.  Take 
the  continent  for  your  arena,  the  great  American  people  for  your  audi- 
ence and  you  have  what  the  business  typifies,  for  it  reaches  every  nook 
and  corner  of  the  country,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  and  touches  in 
some  way  every  man,  woman  and  child.  Is  not  this  vast  stretch  of  human 
interests  and  activities  enough  to  make  one  pause?  Think  of  the  noble 
spectacle  that  would  present  itself  if  an  eye  could  sweep  over  all  this 
great  country  at  a  glance  and  could  actually  see  the  thousand  and  one  men 
employed  in  growing,  shipping  and  selling  the  stupendous  annual  supplies 
of  apples,  peaches,  oranges,  potatoes,  onions,  cabbage,  poultry,  eggs, 
butter,  etc.  that  must  be  had  to  provide  our  great  nation  with  a  hundred 
and  one  produce  article  to  keep  the  big  machine  going! 

Who  can  doubt  my  doctrine  that  the  great  produce  game  should  inspire 
patriotism?  Not  so  much  a  patriotism  that  ends  with  one's  board  fence 
or  with  one's  state  lines,  but  the  kind  that  spreads  out  like  the  object 
of  its  inspiration  and  takes  in  the  whole  country. 

The  men  who  have  done  most  for  the  betterment  of  trade  conditions 
have  been  of  the  class  that  has  taken  the  broader  views  of  affairs.  In 
other  words,  their  business  policy  and  their  patriotism  have  not  been  of 
a  narrow  or  contracted  nature.  It  is  unnecessary,  I  presume  to  distin- 
guish between  the  "hollow  horn"  brand  of  agitation  to  which  the  trade 
has  been  subjected  now  and  then,  and  the  vital  influences  that  do  good 
things  and  keep  on  doing,  thus  changing  the  current  of  events  for  the 
belter.  Some  men  have  yet  to  learn  that  a  brass  band  and  a  double 
column  story  on  the  first  page  in  the  newspapers  is  not  a  necessary  ad- 
junct of  a  progressive  measure  designed  for  the  general  uplift  of  the 
trade.  The  reaction  following  a  concert  of  clamor  where  some  foxy  in- 
dividual is  looking  for  a  little  free  advertising  often  leaves  matters  in 
worse  shape  than  before  the  would-be  reformer  began  his  crusade. 

It  is  scarcely  worth  while  to  mention  the  names  of  certain  men  who 
have  done  a  real  service  to  their  country  by  opening  up  new  fields  in  the 
produce  business,  and  who  have  devised  new  and  improved  methods  of 
handling  a  large  part  of  the  nation's  food  stuffs,  men  who  have  blazed 
into  a  new  empire  as  it  were,  and  who  have  been  the  pioneers  in  pro- 
claiming a  newer  and  better  order  of  things.  As  a  general  rule  these  men 
have  been  substantially  rewarded  in  a  business  way,  but  I  submit  there 


IS? 


PRODUCE  AND  PATRIOTISM  143 

are  many  uncrowned  heroes  of  commercial  triumphs,  and  men  whose 
praises  are  as  yet  unsung  for  good  work  done  in  the  agricultural  and 
horticultural  realms,  and  whose  thought  and  effort  were  essential  to  the 
present  advanced  stage  of  development  of  the  industry  under  treatment. 

Taken  altogether  it  is  true  that  the  produce  trade  has  contributed 
its  quota  of  good  citizens  to  our  body  politic.  Numbers  of  men  have  left 
the  ranks  of  the  trade  to  fill  posts  of  honor  of  various  kinds,  and  I  am 
confident  that  a  larger  proportion  of  leaders  in  different  lines  in  the  fu- 
ture will  come  from  the  produce  field  than  has  been  true  in  the  past.  I 
say  this  in  all  candor,  for  I  feel  that  there  is  as  fine  human  material, 
when  measured  after  any  standard,  among  produce  people  as  can  be  found 
in  any  other  line  of  business  today. 

Moreover,  the  tenets  of  a  new  faith  have  been  proclaimed.  The  gos- 
pel of  service  has  superseded  the  creed  of  selfishness  and  asceticism 
among  the  past  generation  of  the  trade.  Broader  thinking  and  keener 
sensibility  have  opened  the  way  for  more  extended  action  with  larger 
and  more  satisfactory  returns. 

Co-operation  based  on  a  broad,  patriotic  sympathy  is  some  day  to 
be  the  touchstone  of  true  success.  Time  and  space  are  almost  annihilated 
in  the  produce  realm  today.  Sectional  lines  and  political  borders  have 
been  nearly  obliterated  in  the  new  order  of  things.  And  as  the  light  grad- 
ually breaks  over  the  range  the  greed  for  gold  loses  part  of  its  sinister 
charm  that  lulls  men's  higher  natures  into  a  stupor,  and  makes  them 
slaves  or  demons  or  both. 

You  say  this  looks  nice  on  paper,  but  is  it  true?  Is  it  true?  If  it  does 
not  assume  at  least  an  air  of  truth  to  you,  if  you  are  in  the  trade,  let 
me  advise  a  little  introspection.  Examine  yourself.  Are  you  standing 
in  the  way  of  a  better  order  of  things  in  the  great  produce  trade  ?  Have 
you  done  your  full  duty  to  others  in  the  trade  as  well  as  to  yourself? 

Has  the  sum  total  of  your  efforts  been  a  help  or  a  hindrance  to  the 
modern  uplift  and  onward  movement?  Where  and  how  do  you  stand 
anyway  ?  What  is  your  number  ?  Do  you  really  know  your  place  ? 
Maybe  you  are  a  soldier  in  the  wrong  camp?  There  are  aome  who 
would  be  more  of  a  credit  to  the  trade  outside  than  inside  the  real 
produce  vanguard.  Are  you  one  of  these?  If  so,  on  behalf  of  the  better 
element  that  must  and  will  soon  predominate  in  produce  circles,  I  extend 
you  a  cordial  invitation  to  brush  up  and  brush  out  your  pessimism,  nar- 
rowness and  possible  wrongdoing ;  get  in  line  for  a  better  era,  or  else  get 
out  of  line  and  the  further  you  go  the  better,  for  it  will  not  be  always 
before  your  doxology  is  sung,  and  your  obituary  will  have  been  duly 
recorded. 


144  PRODUCE   MARKETS   AND   MARKETING 

The  reforms  that  have  extended  through  the  different  branches  of  the 
this  business  will  never  go  backward,  but  forward  always;  the  morale 
of  the  trade  will  never  go  down,  but  up.  Those  of  us  who  survive  a  few 
years  longer  may  expect  to  see  more  reforms,  more  changes,  more  im- 
provements and  better  people  who  will  administer  the  affairs  pertaining 
to  this  great  business.  The  right  kind  of  moral  fibre,  the  right  kind  of 
muscle  and  the  right  kind  of  judgment  will  be  the  combination  that  calls 
for  a  premium  in  the  produce  field,  and  this  premium  should  be  good  for 
passage  anywhere  like  the  coin  of  the  realm. 

Let  us  hope  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  trade  will  come  into 
its  own  in  honesty,  influence  and  wealth,  and  in  possession  of  all  other 
desirable  things  merited.  The  opportunity  is  open  for  great  achievements. 
I  for  one  expect  the  right  men  will  come  forward  and  perform  com- 
mercial feats  little  short  of  miracles  when  measured  by  past  accom- 
plishments. 

I  hazard  my  reputation  as  a  prophet  on  the  prediction  that  in  the 
future  the  men  who  will  astound  the  trade  with  their  accomplishments  will 
be  genuine  patriots  who  delight  in  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  others 
as  well  as  take  honest  pride  in  their  own  successes. 

Verily,  to  be  a  good  produce  man  is  to  be  a  good  patriot  in  all  that 
the  word  implies. 


CHAPTER  XX 

AN  APPEAL  FOR  EQUAL  AND  EXACT  JUSTICE 

If  the  chapters  that  have  gone  before  can  be  said  to  have  any  positive 
influence  the  gist  of  what  I  have  set  out  must  be  summed  up  as  having 
an  overwhelming  bearing  in  favor  of  what  is  just  and  right  in  the  con- 
duct of  trade  affairs. 

However,  I  desire  to  make  a  further  appeal  for  that  equal  and  exact 
justice  between  man  and  man  that  must  prevail  before  the  produce  busi- 
ness can  be  said  to  be  anywhere  near  the  ideal  state  we  so  much  desire, 
and  to  secure  which  many  trade  organizations  have  been  formed  from 
time  to  time. 

Already  enough  has  been  said  about  the  difficulty  to  determine  some- 
times what  is  exactly  right,,  and  I  hope  sufficient  remarks  have  been  made 
to  show  that  the  average  individual  can  usually  find  out  what  is  right 
if  he  wants  to  do  so.  I  think  fully  nine-tenths  of  the  devilment  and 
trickery  in  the  trade  is  premeditated  and  fully  understood  by  those  who 
walk  in  the  secret  places,  and  who  delight  to  tarry  in  the  shady  nooks 
and  corners.  As  it  was  said  in  olden  time,  such  people  prefer  darkness 
rather  than  light  because  their  deeds  are  evil,  at  least  those  who  so  delight 
to  sport  now  and  then  with  the  shadows  on  the  wall. 

Aside  from  the  contingent  in  the  trade  whose  conscience  may  be  seared, 
whose  judgment  is  warped  by  chronic  crookedness  and  whose  very  moral 
fibre  is  punctured  by  exposure  to  frequent  big  or  little  acts  of  wrong 
doing,  there  is  another  class  who  might  be  designated  the  "near  honest" 
crowd  who  aim  at  sparing  their  conscience,  if  you  please,  but  always 
count  on  getting  the  best  end  of  every  deal.  In  other  words,  they  want 
other  people  always  to  assume  losses  if  there  must  be  losses  and  let 
them,  the  "near  honest,"  have  the  profits.  They  are  better  arithme- 
ticians  than  Christians.  They  want  the  benefit  of  every  doubt,  and  are 
usually  fond  of  basking  in  the  limelight  of  trade,  if  not  popular  favor, 
like  the  Pharisees  of  old.  It  is  with  this  "law  honest"  bunch  that  I  have 
special  concern  in  this  chapter. 

145 


146  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

It  is  painfully  true  that  with  some  firms  and  individuals  in  the  trade 
a  deal  must  always  be  a  "jug  handle"  affair.  Perhaps  I  should  add  that 
these  fellows  are  in  a  minority,  although  they  are  far  too  numerous. 

They  all  do  not  march  under  one  banner,  nor  are  they  all  in  one  branch 
of  the  trade.  Here  and  there  we  run  across  them  like  snags  or  shoals 
in  a  great  watercourse,  and  where  the  effect  of  such  impediments  seems 
to  be  mainly  to  aggravate  navigation  and  hinder  commerce.  Possibly 
they  have  a  purpose  in  the  scheme  of  affairs,  but  I  fancy  they  would  have 
a  hard  job  to  give  an  excuse  for  clogging  the  wheels  of  honest  dealing. 
And  I  doubt  if  their  existence  were  put  to  the  test  of  pure  logic  they 
could  show  cause  why  they  should  not  be  put  out  of  business,  that  is, 
when  judged  after  proper  trade  standards. 

In  that  era  devoutly  to  be  wished  for,  when  equal  and  exact  justice 
shall  prevail  and  govern  the  trade,  it  may  become  a  reality  and  not  an 
idle  dream  that  all  men  will  be  honest.  The  system  so  long  in  vogue 
whereby  too  much  has  been  predicated  upon  the  ipse  dixit  of  the  com- 
mission merchant  seems  to  be  ready  for  a  radical  shakeup.  Certainly 
it  is  to  be  deplored  that  so  many  violations  of  confidence  have  resulted 
from  the  old  consignment  system  which  is  pretty  from  a  theoretical  stand- 
point, but  which  fails  sometimes  in  practice  because  there  is  something 
wrong  with  the  men  chosen  to  execute  the  details  in  operating  the 
system.  As  stated  previously  I  have  no  serious  fault  to  find  with  the 
consignment  method  as  such,  but  its  misuse  has  made  many  crooks  and 
semi-crooks  all  along  the  line.  It  is  merely  a  question  of  having  an 
opportunity  for  some  people  to  do  crooked  business. 

No  legal  net  has  ever  been  woven  with  meshes  small  enough  to  catch 
the  little  crooks,  and  at  the  same  time  strong  enough  to  hold  the  big 
crooks.  A  golden  rule  to  measure  produce  people,  I  fear,  would  need  to 
be  encased  in  steel  when  applied  to  the  rough  spots  in  certain  places.  Too 
often  a  produce  deal  is  a  game  played  with  loaded  dice,  or  a  deck 
with  marked  aces.  So  many  shakes  are  allowed  all  around;  the  deal 
looks  to  be  a  square  one.  But  to  those  who  are  sufficiently  versed  to  be 
what  is  technically  termed  "on  to  the  game,"  it  is  plain  there  can  only 
be  one  result  in  the  round  up.  It  is  no  more  difficult  to  get  trimmed  any 
day  in  almost  any  produce  market  than  the  raw  sucker  used  to  find  in  a 
far  western  mining  camp  when  he  expected  to  play  a  sure  tiling  and  make 
a  big  killing  or  break  the  bank. 

Now,  I  hope  no  one  will  be  so  rash  as  to  accuse  me  of  trying  to 
slander  the  produce  trade  as  a  whole,  for  that  is  far  from  my  pur- 
pose, and  every  reasonable  person  must  so  decide  if  he  has  perused  even 
casually  what  I  have  said  in  the  foregoing  chapters.  My  aim  is  to 


AN  APPEAL  FOR  EQUAL  JUSTICE  147 

make  a  fervent  plea  for  the  kind  of  justice  we  all  want  or  should  want 
if  we  hope  to  see  the  business  put  011  the  right  basis,  and  I  take 
it  that  none  but  a  few  crooks  will  raise  a  howl,,  and  dub  me  a  sensational 
reformer  for  taking  the  firm  stand  that  there  are  abuses  and  evils  that 
must  be  regulated  and  remedied  before  the  era  we  have  in  mind  can  ever 
be  ushered  in. 

All  friction  cannot  be  eliminated  from  the  produce  business,  it  is  true, 
but  if  every  man  would  make  it  a  part  of  his  daily  study  to  see  that  he 
does  what  is  right  and  only  what  is  right,  I  am  absolutely  sure  it  would 
make  for  the  happiness  and  profit  of  the  individual  as  well  as  the  trade 
at  large.  What  a  delightful  pastime  it  would  be  to  handle  fruits  and 
produce  if  all  men  in  the  trade  were  honest!  That  would  insure  the 
equal  and  exact  justice  we  are  talking  about.  Profits  under  such  a  sys- 
tem might  not  be  so  large  in  some  deals  but  they  would  be  much  more 
regular  and  certain.  To  say  the  least,  profits  wrould  be  honest,  and  when 
losses  had  to  be  met,  as  they  always  must  be,  they  would  be  honest  losses 
and  could  be  assumed  with  a  better  grace  than  at  the  present  time  when 
every  other  fellow  seems  to  feel  he  is  skinned  when  he  meets  a  loss. 

Honesty  presupposes  moral  stamina;  justice  is  predicated  upon  a 
modicum  of  intelligence.  Justice,  whether  measured  through  the  legal 
sieve  or  not,  should  mix  readily  into  the  dough  of  honesty  and  make  a 
good  loaf,  biscuit  or  bun.  Another  definition  for  honesty  might  be  jus- 
tice. Neither  is  possible  without  the  other,  and  I  think  it  would  be  a 
long  step  in  the  direction  of  improved  trade  conditions  if  everybody  in 
the  trade  could  realize  fully  the  truth  of  this  fact.  Plain  honesty  may 
sometimes  go  a  step  beyond  what  cut  and  dried  justice  requires,  but  not 
often  are  the  two  at  variance.  Men  sometimes  get  the  mistaken  idea  that 
to  be  honest  they  would  go  broke.  Such  specious  argument  is  advanced 
as  "our  dishonest  competitors  would  get  all  the  trade,"  and  "we  must 
abide  by  trade  customs ;  if  they  are  wrong  we  cannot  help  it,"  and  "life 
is  too  short  to  waste  time  trying  to  remedy  evils  that  are  of  long  stand- 
ing and  so  widespread."  Only  physical  weaklings  or  moral  degenerates 
can  share  such  opinions.  He  is  a  curse  to  the  trade  who  does  not  assume 
responsibility  for  standards  and  ideals  that  are  found  among  the  people 
who  make  up  the  body  of  which  he  is  a  part. 

However  insignificant  a  wrong  may  appear  it  may  become  disastrous 
to  somebody  in  its  ultimate  effect.  Loose  honesty  seems  to  have  become 
widespread  among  the  trade  long  ago,  presumably  because  it  was  fash- 
ionable. Sentiment  rules  strong.  When  men  get  higher  ideals  they  have 
better  ideas.  Honesty  is  not  entirely  a  subjective  condition,  and  justice 
is  not  purely  an  ethical  theory.  They  have  their  real  application  in 


148  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

everyday  life.  Both  are  arrived  at  by  mental  processes.  How  important 
then  that  men's  minds  be  set  right !  This  is  why  I  urge  that  it  is  part 
of  the  bounden  duty  of  everybody  in  the  trade  to  uplift  and  uphold  trade 
ideals.  This  can  be  done,  if  you  please,  without  making  the  whole  trade 
a  race  of  professional  "butinskis."  But  when  opportunity  offers  the 
wrong  should  be  roundly  condemned ;  the  right  should  be  as  soundly  com- 
mended, and  if  necessary,  courageously  and  effectively  defended. 

I  submit  that  it  is  or  should  be  a  duty  that  devolves  upon  everyone 
to  use  his  best  efforts  to  not  only  weed  out  confirmed  crooks  in  the  trade, 
but  also  to  do  his  best  to  array  himself  against  any  and  all  customs  which 
put  a  price  on  good  behavior,  to  foster  and  protect  the  man  who  is  being 
made  the  victim  of  a  ruthless  and  sinister  practice;  and  at  all  times  to 
deal  a  telling  blow  to  any  bad  behavior,  although  it  may  have  the  sanc- 
tion of  long  usage  and  may  have  been  winked  at  by  an  ultra  respectable 
set,  possessing  the  outward  guise  of  piety,  but  withal  foul  to  the  core. 

There  are  evils  and  systematic  errors  of  which  I  may  not  speak.  It 
would  be  of  little  worth  to  try  to  enumerate  them  all.  Principle  is  the 
main  thing,  and  it  is  with  principles  we  are  chiefly  concerned.  Suffice 
it  to  say  concerted  action  among  the  better  element,  which  certainly 
predominates  in  the  trade,  would  go  a  long  way  towards  securing  justice 
that  would  inspire  confidence  and  remedy  evils  as  nothing  else  can. 

But  how  can  we  get  concerted  action?  By  having  everyone  wait  for 
someone  else  to  take  the  initiative?  Hardly.  Every  man  should  ap- 
point himself  a  committee  of  one  to  see  that  no  time  is  lost  to  inaugurate 
good  reforms  to  regulate  and  purify  business  in  his  respective  line. 
Those  fearless  and  honest  enough  would  doubtless  make  rapid  progress 
on  their  own  account,  and  meet  positive  encouragement  on  the  part  of 
others  if  the  proper  spirit  permeated  the  entire  trade.  Righteousness  is 
contagious  when  its  potency  is  understood  and  when  men  realize  there 
is  a  reward  in  doing  right  over  and  beyond  the  sum  of  a  few  paltry 
dollars. 

Very  nice,  you  say,  but  will  this  era  of  equal  and  exact  justice  ever 
come  about  even  through  a  long  process  of  evolution?  From  what  I 
have  said  heretofore  it  will  be  unnecessary  to  dwell  on  my  answer.  I 
hope  the  time  is  not  far  off  when  we  shall  see  the  fruits  of  labors  spent  in 
the  direction  of  better  trade  ideals  and  better  men  in  the  business.  I 
verily  believe  as  time  goes  on  we  shall  find  more  men  have  been  good 
than  bad,  and  that  equal  and  exact  justice  is  becoming  popular  and  prof- 
itable. I  shall  offer  some  further  argument  on  this  subject  in  a  later 
chapter. 

In  conclusion,  I  want  to  say  that  the  produce  public  is  as  good  as  the 


AX  APPEAL  FOR  EQUAL  JUSTICE  149 

people  make  it.  That  is  self  evident.  To  advance  the  standards  of  the 
business,  it  is  essential  that  the  individuals  be  reached  and  transformed 
where  transformation  is  necessary.  Where  it  is  not  necessary  the  in- 
dividual must  be  reached,  and  his  support  and  sympathy  enlisted  in  the 
cause  of  justice  to  everybody  in  the  trade  and  out  of  it.  The  individual 
can  be  reached  best  by  the  evangels  that  cry  out  in  the  still  watches  of 
the  night.  Their  voices  may  be  feeble  at  first,  but  they  will  be  heard. 
It  is  first  a  case  of  conscience.  Exercise  your  higher  sensibilities.  Get 
right  and  tell  others.  It  will  be  an  easy  matter  to  stick  when  others  do. 

I  shall  lay  down  no  new  laws,  nor  proclaim  any  new  philosophy.  Jus- 
tice is  positive,  practical  and  profitable,  especially  if  exact  and  universal 
in  its  application.  But  justice  can  never  be  found  in  a  crucible  nor  re- 
duced to  a  mathematical  formula.  Withal,  it  is  simple  in  most  cases 
where  produce  details  are  involved,  and  those  who  have  no  acquaintance 
with  justice  can  probably  get  an  introduction  from  their  next  door 
neighbors.  When  justice  is  perverse  and  elusive,  as  it  sometimes  must 
be,  it  can  generally  be  found  out  by  arbitration.  But  usually  the  un- 
adulterated brand  can  be  arrived  at  by  the  individual  who  has  an  honest 
heart,  a  moment's  leisure  and  the  right  disposition. 

When  the  day  of  equal  and  exact  justice  comes,  then  and  not  until 
then  can  produce  affairs  move  with  the  swiftness,  certainty,  pleasure  and 
profit  that  I  believe  was  intended  by  a  beneficent  Creator.  As  we  should 
await  the  millennium  in  spiritual  affairs,  as  we  are  duly  commanded,  so 
should  we  aid  the  approach  of  the  time  when  produce  people  will  find  it 
is  easy  for  everybody  to  do  right  all  the  time  as  for  some  to  do  wrong 
in  small  or  large  affairs,  some  always,  some  only  now  and  then.  Jus- 
tice must  ultimately  predominate  here  or  hereafter.  Slowly  but  surely 
there  are  unmistakable  signs  springing  up  from  time  to  time  which  prove 
that  the  great  principles  of  justice  and  honesty  are  being  better  under- 
stood and  more  generally  accepted  by  the  trade  everywhere. 

The  produce  millennium  is  not  yet,  but  it  is  certainly  in  process  of 
evolution.  Those  who  are  so  fortunate  as  to  live  a  few  years  more  may 
expect  to  see  some  real  wonders  as  the  upward  movement  progresses. 


CHAPTER    XXI 

THE   WIZARDS  AT  WORK 

The  fruit  and  produce  business  either  from  the  growing  or  marketing 
standpoint  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  allied  to  the  black  arts ;  yet  it  seems 
there  are  wizards  at  work  effecting  changes  from  time  to  time,  and 
securing  results  that  make  one  question  the  statement  that  the  day  of 
miracles  is  past. 

It  is  true  that  things  we  are  accustomed  to  from  day  to  day  after 
awhile  seem  trite.  Only  outsiders  can  appreciate  the  wonders  that  are 
being  worked  out  in  the  great  produce  field  every  season,  and  which 
frequently  fall  little  short  of  being  magical  because  of  their  intricacy 
and  immensity.  Imagine  if  you  can  the  far  reaching  effect  on  humanity 
wrought  by  horticultural  wizards  like  Burbank  and  others  whose  lives 
are  wound  up  in  producing  and  developing  new  and  better  varieties  of 
fruits  and  flowers,  and  think  also  what  the  ultimate  effect  of  such  a  life 
is  on  trade  affairs  at  large. 

First,  the  horticultural  wizard,  if  we  may  call  him  such,  develops  a 
new  variety,  then  other  wizards  set  about  to  make  perfect  what  the  first 
wizard  seemed  to  have  only  dreamt.  The  final  realization  comes  when 
the  general  public  is  reached  and  blessed  by  having  better  fruits  or  prod- 
ucts of  various  kinds  and  more  of  them  for  less  money. 

What  infinite  labor  and  what  marvellous  intellects  have  been  necessary 
through  the  long  series  of  years  to  take  the  few  primitive  fruits  and 
vegetables  supplied  in  the  scant  storehouse  of  nature,  and  develop  the  al- 
most perfect  strains  we  find  today!  It  would,  indeed,  be  futile  for 
me  to  attempt  to  form  an  estimate  of  the  great  men  who  have  made  pres 
ent  conditions  in  the  fruit  and  produce  business  what  they  are.  It  is 
a  long  story  and  doubtless  antedates  even  the  discovery  of  this  continent, 
for  we  must  recollect  th.it  present  day  progress  in  all  lines,  though  seem- 
ingly modern  out  and  out,  has  its  counterpart  in  olden  times  rven  before 
the  discovery  of  gunpowder  or  the  mariner's  compass. 

150 


THE  WIZARDS  AT  WORK  151 

But  there  are  wizards  at  work  aside  from  the  horticultural  end  of 
the  produce  business.  We  may  not  stop  to  think  what  a  wonderful  thing 
it  is  that  present  trade  conditions  have  well  nigh  obliterated  the  times  for 
the  annual  seasons  as  they  were  formerly  known.  To  have  luscious 
strawberries  in  northern  markets  in  the  winter  time  is  a  triumph  that 
ought  to  rank,  at  least  in  point  of  uniqueness,  with  the  invention  of 
wireless  telegraphy  or  the  discovery  of  X  rays.  They  all  show  progress, 
and  all  progress  must  be  correlated. 

However,  the  example  of  the  berries  just  cited  might  be  varied  in- 
definitely with  other  articles  under  different  circumstances.  It  is  not  so 
much  a  wonder  to  have  fruits  and  produce  out  of  season  as  there  is  won- 
der in  the  distribution  of  all  kinds  of  produce  over  this  broad  country 
in  season,  for  as  we  have  already  noted  the  term  season  has  become  so 
elastic  as  to  stretch  almost  from  January  to  December. 

The  application  of  refrigeration  to  the  handling  of  produce  has  trans- 
formed some  lines  so  completely  as  to  necessitate  an  entire  revision  of 
trade  customs.  In  the  memory  of  many  men  in  the  trade  they  recollect 
the  time  when  there  was  no  such  thing  as  a  storage  egg  or  a  tub  of  stor- 
age butter.  What  do  we  find  today?  The  change  compares  favorably 
with  stories  we  read  about  in  Arabian  Nights  and  the  fairy  books. 

There  are  still  other  feats  in  handling  produce,  however,  that  must 
challenge  our  admiration,  and  we  must  look  closely  to  see  the  real  won- 
ders, for  they  are  so  frequent  as  to  appear  trite  and  commonplace. 

Nothing  could  possess  more  to  move  one  to  imagine  himself  in  fairy- 
land than  to  take  a  glance  over  a  big  market  place  in  the  early  morn- 
ing hours  wThen  thousands  and  thousands  of  parcels  and  packages  of 
fruits,  vegetables  and  other  kinds  of  produce  are  put  on  sale  and  begin 
the  last  lap  of  their  jaunt  from  the  producer  to  the  consumer. 

Here  in  the  market,  whether  it  be  the  street,  the  wharf,  or  on  the 
track,  all  is  bustle  and  excitement.  Buyers  are  quick  to  act;  sellers  are 
anxious,  and  it  seems  as  if  the  very  atmosphere  is  charged  with  energy 
that  makes  things  go  and  go  in  a  hurry.  What  is  most  singular,  those 
who  are  mixed  up  in  the  great  drama  are  often  unable  to  realize  fully 
what  is  taking  place  around  them.  Presumably  it  is  much  the  same  as 
the  feeling  of  the  seasoned  soldier  who  becomes  so  inured  to  hardships 
and  danger  as  to  be  reckless  of  his  life  when  he  goes  into  battle,  and 
scarcely  to  realize  that  men  are  being  mowed  down  all  around  him. 

I  was  on  the  "street"  of  one  of  the  largest  markets  in  the  coun- 
try one  morning  and  I  found  myself  tied  up  in  a  jam  on  the  side- 
walk where  there  was  a  mass  of  trucks,  buyers,  salesmen  and  packages 
of  goods.  I  leaned  casually  against  the  wall  to  allow  a  heavily  laden 


152  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

truck  to  pass,  and  incidentally  spoke  to  a  veteran  salesman  standing  care- 
lessly in  front  of  the  store  where  he  worked,,  puffing  away  at  his  pipe. 

"Business  must  be  good,"  I  remarked.  "Good?  I  should  say  not,"  he 
tauntingly  replied.  "Business  is  rotten.  Yesterday  was  the  day  for 
business.  I  got  down  at  half  past  four  o'clock  and  the  buyers  were  hun- 
gry for  stuff.  I'm  the  apple  man,  you  see.  When  I  have  got  the  goods 
and  the  buyers  are  out  in  full  force,  ready  to  trade  I  would  like  to  be  a 
twin  brother  to  myself  so  I  could  do  business  fast  enough.  Say,  yes- 
terday I  sat  out  early  and  worked  until  about  nine  o'clock,  and  sold  close 
to  $5,000  worth,  and  if  I  could  have  been  in  two  places  at  one  time  I 
would  have  nearly  doubled  the  sales,  I  believe." 

"Well,"  said  I,  "you  seem  to  be  doing  some  business  again  today." 

"Here  it's  nearly  noon  and  I  have  sold  only  a  few  hundred  dollars 
worth  to  a  gang  of  pikers  today.  It  makes  me  want  to  go  hang  myself  to 
hear  you  talk  about  business  being  good !  There's  simply  nothing  doing 
today." 

I  had  got  a  severe  set  back  in  my  ideas  about  the  status  of  the  market, 
but  the  jam  had  broken  up — as  all  street  jams  must — so  I  sauntered 
along  my  way. 

Presently  a  dapper  little  red-haired  man  I  knew  darted  up  from  a 
butter  room  in  a  big  basement,  and  charged  down  towards  me  as  if  he 
were  running  to  catch  a  train. 

"Hello!  you  move  like  there  is  a  fire  in  your  butter  rooms,  and  you 
were  going  to  turn  in  an  alarm,"  I  remarked  as  I  shook  hands  with  this 
salesman,  whom  I  had  known  for  years. 

"Nothing  like  that,"  he  said  catching  his  breath.  "I  have  simply 
broken  all  records  this  morning  selling  butter.  Have  begun  on  the  last 
thousand  and  to  make  $8,000  worth  we  have  worked  out  today.  Am  going 
up  to  tell  the  boss  and  ask  for  a  raise  in  my  salary.  Business  is  the 
best  I  ever  saw.  Haven't  had  time  to  get  a  bite  to  eat.  But  it's  great 
business,  great  business !" 

With  this  recitation  I  was  nonplussed.  The  little  salesman  passed  on 
and  so  did  I,  and  I  was  led  to  wonder  if  there  is  not  an  application  to  the 
produce  business  of  that  old  proverb  about  every  dog  having  his  day. 

In  the  course  of  fifteen  minutes  I  had  the  words  of  two  expert  sales- 
men about  conditions  on  the  street.  One  had  a  great  run  the  day  be- 
fore, but  there  was  nothing  doing  today,  while  the  other  pronounced  busi- 
ness "great"  and  had  broken  all  records  for  his  house.  Could  it  be  that 
both  of  these  men  were  right?  Yes,  so  far  as  they  were  individually  con- 
cerned, there  is  no  doubt  but  each  had  told  the  truth  as  he  saw  it.  They 
were  selling  different  lines  of  stock,  but  were  near  neighbors.  It  is 


THE  WIZARDS  AT  WORK  153 

just  such  occurrences  as  these  that  go  to  make  a  market  place  a  wonder. 
Even  the  folks  next  door  hardly  have  an  idea  what  is  taking  place  when 
someone  else  makes  a  killing. 

A  record  day  or  a  record  sale  is  something  to  be  proud  of.  But  they 
are  being  made  every  day.  New  records  must  eclipse  all  former  deals. 
It  takes  these  quasi-wizards  to  make  them.  They  must  have  that  which 
makes  them  differ  from  other  records.  They  are  all  wonderful,  and  the 
men  who  make  them  are  really  wizards  if  we  give  them  full  credit  for 
what  they  do  and  consider  what  it  means  to  accomplish  the  results  they 
do. 

But  the  real  wizards  in  the  produce  game  are  the  men  who  fix  up  the 
plans  and  formulate  campaigns  that  call  for  records.  It  is  another  case 
where  the  architect  must  be  given  credit  instead  of  the  builder. 

I  have  seen  a  wizard  set  down,  and  figuratively  speaking,  place  every 
market  in  the  country  at  his  mercy  so  far  as  a  certain  commodity  was 
concerned.  He  was  not  operating  so  much  directly  as  indirectly,  for 
he  had  enlisted  the  co-operation  of  others  in  his  plans  to  control  the  situa- 
tion. The  market  responded  as  he  had  intended;  soon  there  was  a  flow 
of  telegrams  and  letters  that  would  be  worth  going  miles  to  see.  Car 
lots  were  hurrying  here  and  there  like  shoppers  thronging  a  thorough- 
fare. They  were  despatched  as  had  been  anticipated,  and  there  were 
profits  following  the  perfect  plans  that  would  almost  produce  heart  fail- 
ure among  the  uninitiated.  It  was  another  case  of  a  veritable  magician 
in  the  produce  field,  for  the  results  were  no  less  wonderful  than  we  see 
on  the  stage  when  some  juggler  astounds  us  with  sleight-of-hand  tricks 
that  look  as  if  the  days  of  miracles  are  not  only  not  passed,  but  only  just 
begun.  Of  course,  the  tricks  of  the  juggler  are  only  tricks,  and  not 
real  things  like  the  produce  wizards  perform. 

And  so  these  wizards  in  the  great  produce  game  are  often  quite  com- 
monplace as  we  are  accustomed  to  look  at  them,  but  usually  a  little  elbow 
touch  with  them  and  a  bit  of  sober  reflection  on  our  part  will  serve  to 
convince  us  that  wonderful  things  are  happening  in  different  branches  of 
the  business  daily  which  are  due  to  carefully  outlined  plans  that  seem 
to  have  all  the  earmarks  of  genius. 

Whether  our  wizards  be  in  the  orchard  or  field,  in  store  or  office, 
they  are  wonders  nevertheless.  You  can  hardly  claim  a  bowing  ac- 
quaintance with  the  produce  public  if  you  do  not  know  a  score  or 
more  of  real  wizards,  not  crooks  who  propose  great  things,  but  upright, 
energetic  people  who  accomplish  wonders  if  we  pause  and  reflect  upon 
what  they  are  doing. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  the  observation  that  any  man  of  ordinary  intelli- 


154  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

gence  must  admit  that  produce  wizards  are  a  godsend  to  the  line  of 
business  in  which  they  are  engaged.  Most  of  them  would  have  made  a 
startling  success  in  any  other  line  of  business  they  might  have  taken 
up,  for  they  seem  to  possess  a  rare  talisman  that  enables  them  to  com- 
mand the  mountains  to  stand  forth  and  the  mountains  obey. 

It  is  worth  while  for  everyone  to  consider  the  work  of  men  who  have 
a  knack  of  doing  common  things  in  uncommon  ways.  There  are  lots  of 
them  in  the  trade,  but  if  their  number  could  be  increased  two-fold  it 
would  be  an  everlasting  blessing  to  the  produce  business. 

After  we  reflect  upon  the  success  of  some  men  we  know  it  seems  clear 
how  they  climbed  up  as  they  have.  Careful  preparation,  close  study  of 
their  business,  taking  advantage  of  conditions  instead  of  individuals,  and 
beyond  everything  else,  hard  work  will  most  likely  explain  the  sum  total 
of  the  astounding  success  of  the  more  conspicuous  examples  of  success- 
ful produce  men. 


CHAPTER    XXII 

BETTER  DAYS  AHEAD 

People  engaged  in  any  and  all  branches  of  the  produce  business  should 
be  optimists.  They  should  be  given  up  to  that  philosophy  which  best 
enables  them  to  bear  their  burdens,  and  endure  their  troubles  with  a 
tranquil  spirit  accompanied  with  a  smile  that  shows  they  always  hope 
for  the  best,  and  exhibiting  that  faith  in  the  divine  plan  of  the  universe 
which  expects  all  things  will  come  out  right  in  the  end. 

Of  course,  I  am  not  suggesting  the  building  of  air  castles  or  laying 
foundations  on  sand.  What  I  am  trying  to  do  is  to  establish  the  ex- 
pediency of  good  cheer  and  a  uniform,  collective  effort  for  the  betterment 
of  trade  affairs.  By  far  the  majority  of  our  troubles  and  problems  are 
purely  mental.  Forsooth,  the  physical  world  shapes  itself  after  the 
mental  even  as  the  clay  is  shaped  by  the  potter's  hand.  Once  the  prod- 
uce public  gets  to  thinking  right  it  will  be  a  great  surprise  how  many  fan- 
cied ills  will  take  their  flight  into  the  realm  of  forgetfulness. 

But,  of  course,  there  are  many  real  problems  before  the  trade  which 
we  have  pointed  out  in  preceding  chapters  that  will  hardly  yield  to 
"mental  treatment."  Some  of  these  problems  will  likely  have  to  be 
passed  on  to  the  next  generation,  but  those  who  are  in  position  to  make 
,i  faithful,  intelligent  effort  at  improving  conditions  should  feel  disgraced 
in  the  eyes  of  posterity  if  their  plain  duty  is, shirked  in  trying  to  bring 
about  better  days  ahead. 

Just  what  should  be  done  and  how,  is,  in  some  cases  at  least,  a  difficult 
matter  to  determine.  Trade  conditions  should  be  compared  with  condi- 
tions in  years  gone  by.  What  has  developed  progress  and  brought  about 
improvements  heretofore  may  be  regarded  as  examples  for  future  changes. 

In  some  measure,  I  believe,  the  system  on  which  the  produce  business 
will  be  conducted  in  the  future  will  be  somewhat  automatically  developed. 
Certain  changes,  of  course,  can  only  come  from  sheer  force  of  conditions ; 
certain  evils  will  have  to  be  eliminated  in  the  crucible  if  not  abated 

155 


156  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

otherwise,  as  some  men  seem  slow  to  yield  except  to  the  fire  test,  making 
a  hard  and  fast  nuisance  of  themselves  longer  than  would  seem  possible. 
However,  every  year  sees  more  and  more  of  the  undesirable  specimens 
weeded  out  of  the  produce  trade.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  bad 
methods  and  worse  men  are  certainly  decreasing  compared  with  the 
past.  Time  alone  can  regulate  such  matters,  and  time  works  changes 
automatically. 

Because  certain  reforms  move  slowly  men  appear  to  get  out  of  patience 
with  them  sometimes.  This  should  not  be  so.  All  improvements  cannot 
be  wrought  in  a  day.  It  often  takes  time  and  infinite  pains  to  make 
even  a  slight  change  where  a  remedy  is  desired  for  an  evil,  or  where  an 
improved  method  is  to  be  substituted  for  one  that  is  clumsy  and  an- 
tiquated. Some  things  can  be  hastened  and  some  others  cannot.  The  sun 
has  a  certain  time  to  rise  and  set,  and  the  seasons  must  change  at  stated 
intervals. 

Produce  is  closely  related  to  the  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun,  and  the 
recurrence  of  the  seasons  cuts  a  great  figure  in  developing  and  handling 
of  this  line.  Therefore,  insofar  as  produce  is  intermingled  with  the  clock- 
work of  the  universe  we  can  feel  assured  there  are  some  things  which 
will  have  to  be  changed  slowly,  if  at  all,  for  the  best. 

Still,  it  is  not  too  much  to  expect  man,  in  his  onward  march  extending 
control  over  the  domain  of  nature,  to  evolve  many  wonders  in  the  course 
of  a  few  years  that  will  probably  exert  some  far  reaching  influences  upon 
certain  features  of  the  produce  business  that  have  long  been  regarded  as 
fixed  as  the  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians.  A  point  in  mind  is  the  ap- 
plication of  refrigeration  to  the  produce  field.  What  a  marvelous  change 
this  one  invention  has  brought  about  can  hardly  be  appreciated  without 
careful  investigation. 

One  thing  sure  is  that  the  chief  requisite  of  progress  is  for  men  every- 
where to  abandon  narrow  views  and  wrong  methods  in  business.  There 
have  been  so  many  examples  of  the  fact  that  men  gain  more  from  conduct- 
ing business  on  a  broad  gauge  plan  than  from  trying  to  operate  after 
purely  selfish  methods,  I  deem  it  unnecessary  to  take  up  time  showing 
wherein  the  firm  or  individual  gains  more  in  the  long  run  by  doing  busi- 
ness on  a  live  and  let  live  policy,  than  by  trying  "to  hog"  everything  in 
sight. 

Those  in  the  produce  trade  who  fail  to  recognize  the  modern  spirit  of 
co-operation,  and  who  are  not  alive  to  the  higher  philosophy  of  frater- 
nalism,  are  out  of  their  sphere,  and  will  sooner  or  later  be  forced  out 
of  the  van  guard  that  is  found  marching  onward  and  upward  to  the 
goal  of  progress,  and  they  certainly  will  be  lost  from  the  phalanx  that 
will  achieve  the  highest  success  in  the  future. 


BETTER  DAYS  AHEAD  157 

All  lines  of  human  endeavor  have  been  affected  by  the  wave  of  reform 
and  the  moral  awakening  that  has  spread  over  the  country  like  wild  fire 
the  past  few  years,  yet  among  people  in  the  trade  there  are  those  who 
are  disposed  to  lament  certain  changes  that  stern  conditions  have  dic- 
tated. Such  people  are  not  unlike  old  King  Canute  who  was  so  un- 
sophisticated as  to  believe  he  could  sweep  back  the  waves  of  the  sea  with 
his  broom. 

Changes  are  destined  to  come,  and  let  us  be  fair  enough  to  admit  that 
most  of  these  changes  are  in  the  nature  of  needed  reforms,  and  that 
as  a  general  rule  they  make  for  the  betterment  of  the  trade  everywhere. 
The  sensible  thing  for  men  to  do  when  they  find  themselves  face  to  face 
with  changes  that  are  inevitable,  is  to  adjust  themselves  to  such  things 
as  must  come  with  the  changes.  I  fear  that  certain  men  in  some  quarters 
have  done  themselves  and  their  fellows  irreparable  harm  by  trying  to 
oppose  genuine  progress.  Now  and  then  we  find  a  man  who  knows  the 
world  moves,  but  who  apparently  refuses  to  move  himself.  There  is  a 
touch  of  pathos  in  contemplating  such  a  case  in  the  produce  trade  or  in 
any  other  line  of  business. 

Certainly  there  are  abundant  reasons  to  hope  for  better  days  ahead 
in  the  produce  business.  All  business  is  based  on  confidence.  Men 
are  learning  to  trust  one  another  more  than  in  years  gone  by,  and  the 
exercise  of  trust  under  proper  safeguards  always  acts  as  a  stimulus  to 
honest  dealing.  The  complex  relations  we  find  in  the  scheme  of  produce 
dealing  today  necessitates  confidence  between  man  and  man.  There  are 
lots  of  cases,  of  course,  where  confidence  is  misplaced  and  losses  follow. 
But  what  do  we  find  in  all  other  lines?  Identically  the  same.  Just  be- 
cause there  may  be  more  cases  of  misplaced  confidence  than  heretofore 
might  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  there  are  so  many  more  opportunities, 
yea,  necessities  for  reposing  confidence  in  others. 

Despite  certain  opinions  to  the  contrary,  the  majority  of  people  in  the 
produce  trade  want  to  be  honest,  and  if  they  are  given  proper  encour- 
agement they  will  not  wilfully  violate  a  trust.  He  who  is  heard  to  be 
constantly  lambasting  the  trade  for  its  moral  shortcomings  and  lament- 
ing the  fact  that  so  many  rogues  are  identified  with  the  produce  business, 
will  bear  a  little  watching  himself.  From  actual  observation  I  am  forced 
to  the  conclusion  that  those  who  sometimes  cry  out  the  longest  and  loud- 
est against  the  whole  trade  as  a  race  of  crooks  are  themselves  worse 
crooks  than  the  people  they  assail. 

It  means  a  great  deal  for  a  plaintiff  to  go  into  court  with  clean  hands. 
"He  is  thrice  armed  who  hath  his  quarrel  just,"  is  an  ancient  precept 
that  has  not  suffered  with  age.  Only  those  who  are  honest  themselves 


.158      PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

can  hope  to  wield  a  positive  influence  for  good  in  effecting  reforms  and 
bringing  about  desired  changes  in  the  produce  game  that  will  put 
the  business  on  a  surer,  safer  and  more  profitable  basis. 

Man  in  his  individual  capacity  amounts  to  little  nowadays.  Jt  i« 
imperative  that  any  and  all  organizations,  looking  to  the  betterment  oi 
trade  conditions,  should  hold  this  fact  constantly  in  mind.  No  body  of 
men  can  ultimately  succeed  even  in  their  organized  capacity  who  champion 
a  wrong,  or  who  hope  to  make  bad  men  good  after  a  kind  of  hocus  pocus 
process.  Mere  numbers  count  for  little  or  nothing.  Haste  to  spread  a 
propaganda  is  liable  to  enlist  certain  types  that  ultimately  thwart  the 
basic  motives  on  which  the  enterprise  is  founded. 

The  right  kind  of  co-operation  can  accomplish  wonders,  and  the  wrong 
kind  can  also  do  wonderful  harm.  But  too  much  cannot  be  expected  oi 
co-operation  even  in  this  age  when  the  theory  itself  is  in  danger  of  being 
worked  to  death.  Let  every  man  in  the  trade  endeavor  to  promote  con- 
fidence by  being  honest  himself;  let  him  try  to  show  others  he"  is  not 
after  more  than  his  legitimate  gain,  that  he  hopes  others  will  reap  the 
same  degree  of  success  he  aims  to  achieve  for  himself,  knowing  there  is 
plenty  to  go  around  for  everybody  if  it  is  correctly  distributed  and  prop- 
erly treated.  Above  all  let  him  have  the  spirit  that  not  only  is  willing  to 
live  and  let  live,  but  which  desires  to  help  the  other  fellow  to  live,  and 
if  no  help  is  to  be  rendered,  the  constant  resolution  shall  prevail  to  at 
least  throw  nothing  in  the  way  of  a  struggling  fellow  in  the  trade. 

How  many  men  in  the  trade  can  truthfully  say  they  are  actuated  by 
this  spirit?  It  is  certainly  good  gospel,  isn't  it?  It  makes  for  happiness, 
for  the  best  way  to  be  happy  yourself  is  to  make  someone  else  happy.  I 
am  sorry  that  the  converse  of  this  is  also  true.  We  shall  see  not  only  a 
more  pleasant,  but  a  more  prosperous  business  in  handling  fruits  and 
produce  when  men  cease  to  be  narrow  and  selfish. 

The  trade  is  growing  better  I  know,  but  if  I  can  hasten  its  progress 
a  bit  in  the  right  direction,  I  shall  feel  amply  rewarded  for  my  work  in 
this  volume.  The  progress  may  be  slow,  but  it  is  sure.  What  is  right 
must  prevail. 

Kingdoms  rise  and  fall ;  civilizations  perish ;  men  come  and  go,  but 
principles  are  eternal.  It  is  about  the  inexorable  principle  that  shines 
forth  in  the  characters  of  men  that  I  am  talking. 

I  am  sure  that  the  right  principles  are  gradually  forcing  their  way 
to  the  top.  It  may  take  a  crow  bar  here  and  there, — a  jack  screw  now 
and  then,  and  maybe  an  augur  to  get  through,  but  in  the  end  the  right 
lands  on  top  and  goes  on  triumphant. 

Yes,  I  admit  this  is  all  more  or  less  general  and  possibly  didactic.     But 


BETTER  DAYS  AHEAD  159 

what  does  .that  matter?  It  is  impossible  to  be  specific,  and  point  out 
what  reforms.,  changes  or  plans  are  necessary  to  bring  about  the  better 
days  ahead  we  have  in  mind.  But  who  can  deny  that  my  prescription 
is  not  the  correct  remedy  as  far  as  the  symptoms  are  indicated?  There 
mav  be  complications  to  be  sure,  but  the  remedy  I  have  suggested  will 
surely  go  a  long  way  in  bringing  relief  of  the  troubles  that  have  stood 
in  the  way  of  real  progress  as  trade  conditions  present  themselves  to  me. 

Let  us  hope  that  there  are  better  days  ahead,  and  that  our  generation 
may  be  able  to  realize  that  changes  for  the  good  have  come,  and  that  the 
trade  is  always  just  as  good  or  as  bad  as  the  people  who  make  up  the 
trade  want  it  to  be.  When  we  earnestly  desire  and  work  for  better  days 
they  will  come  as  if  by  magic. 

I  believe  they  are  near  at  hand,  too. 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

PUBLIC  ESTIMATE  OF  THE  TRADE  SHOULD  BE  REVISED 

AND  CORRECTED 

Doubtless  all  fairly  intelligent  people  connected  in  one  way  or  an- 
other with  the  produce  business  must  realize  the  importance  of  having 
the  trade  appear  in  as  good  light  as  possible  before  the  general  public. 

Now  and  then  we  hear  some  such  expression  among  people  who  should 
be  more  enlightened  or  charitable  as  "Oh,  he  is  only  a  produce  man"  or 
"He  is  just  a  fruit  dealer"  or  worse  still  "He  is  one  of  those  tricky  com- 
mission merchants"  or  of  a  horticultural  meeting  "they're  a  bunch  of 
rubes." 

Those  in  the  trade  who  have  a  modicum  of  self  respect,  and  who  are 
aware  of  the  actual  importance  of  the  fruit  and  produce  business  should 
enter  a  polite,  but  firm  protest  against  such  sentiments,  which 
are  far  more  incisive  than  can  be  conveyed  by  the  actual  language  used. 
Sentiments  of  this  kind  have  become  far  too  numerous  for  the  produce 
people  to  pass  them  unheeded.  Manifestly,  the  general  run  of  individuals 
have  no  definite  idea  of  the  produce  business,  except  they  get  it  from 
the  corner  fruit  stand  or  from  the  huckster  who  perhaps  disturbs  their 
morning  slumbers  crying  his  wares  to  the  clanking  of  a  dinner  bell,  which, 
most  likely  is  pitched  in  precisely  the  right  key  to  provoke  one's  temper 
to  the  utmost. 

That  any  one  of  a  dozen  different  produce  commodities  involves  several 
million  dollars  in  its  handling  during  a  single  season  would  strike  many 
well  informed  citizens  as  a  statement  just  a  bit  exaggerated. 

It  would  sound  like  a  fairy  tale  to  tell  even  to  some  "able  financiers" 
that  if  all  the  chicken  hens  throughout  the  United  States  were  put  to 
laying  they  could  in  a  comparatively  short  time  produce  enough  eggs  at 
the  ordinary  market  prices  to  pay  our  national  debt. 

A  man  who  would  attempt  to  figure  out  the  value  of  all  the  apples, 
potatoes,  cabbage,  onions,  bananas,  oranges,  lemons,  poultry,  eggs,  butter 

160 


PUBLIC  ESTIMATE  OF  TRADE  161 

and  the  hundred  and  one  kinds  of  other  staple  articles  that  are  con- 
sumed by  the  American  people,  would  be  considered  "bug  house/'  to  use 
a  modern  curbstone  expression,  for  he  would  be  in  the  same  class  with 
the  misguided  people  trying  to  work  out  a  solution  of  perpetual  motion. 
The  one  task  would  be  about  as  easy  as  the  other  for  any  man  to  solve 
in  a  lifetime. 

But  in  this  connection  I  want  to  say  that  the  "produce  problem"  can 
be  solved  if  taken  hold  of  properly,  and  it  should  be  taken  hold  of  by 
no  less  an  authority  than  the  United  States  government.  Until  one  ap- 
plies to  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for  some  specific  information 
relative  to  the  annual  volume  handled,  or  the  value  of  the  total  of  some 
one  kind  of  produce,  every  season  like  peaches  or  eggs,  one  hardly  real- 
izes the  lack  of  sentiment  in  the  trade  to  bring  conditions  up  to  date,  for 
it  is  the  invariable  rule  that  no  sphere  of  human  activity  gets  proper  recog- 
nition at  the  hands  of  Uncle  Sam  until  the  component  parts  of  the  aforesaid 
"sphere"  are  sufficiently  impressed  with  their  importance  to  be  worthy 
of,  and  to  demand  proper  recognition.  The  Department  of  Agriculture, 
like  other  departments,  is  very  apt  to  follow  the  line  of  least  resistance, 
and  this  explains  why  so  little  live,  up-to-date  information  about  the 
vast  importance  of  produce  affairs  can  be  had  of  Uncle  Sam. 

It  is  a  severe  criticism  on  the  progressive  spirit  of  produce  people 
of  all  kinds  that  volumes  upon  volumes  have  been  written  on  snakes,  bugs, 
ticks,  ants,  cliff-dwellers,  mound  builders,  extinct  Indian  tribes,  humming 
birds,  butterflies,  etc.  etc.,  ad  infinitum,  when  apparently  little  or  no 
effort  has  been  made  to  collect  and  classify  vital  statistics  relative  to  the 
value  of  some  of  our  leading  food  products  embraced  in  fruits  and  produce, 
and  an  effort  made  to  keep  such  information  in  the  realm  of  reasonable 
freshness  for  trade  purposes. 

We  are  taught  in  ponderous  tomes  issued  by  Uncle  Sam,  couched  in  more 
or  less  scientific,  Latin  verbiage  how  to  raise  chickens,  etc.,  but  little  or 
no  intelligent  effort  is  put  forth  to  collect  systematically  the  market  value 
of  the  chickens  raised  in  a  given  year,  except  possibly  when  the  general 
census  is  taken  and  the  report  is  probably  stale  and  almost  worthless  for 
trade  purposes  before  it  is  available. 

Many  costly  experiments  have  been  made  by  scientific  horticulturists 
and  pomologists  employed  by  the  U.  S.  Agricultural  Department  to  dis- 
cover and  explain  the  best  methods  of  fruit  growing,  which  is  certainly 
good  as  far  as  the  policy  goes,  and  should  be  encouraged  and  extended. 
But  what  is  even  more  essential  for  the  welfare  of  the  fruit  growers,  prod- 
uce shippers  and  the  trade  generally,  is  for  Uncle  Sam  to  ascertain  for 
example,  the  exact  commercial  apple  acreage  of  the  country,  showing  how 


162  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

much  acreage  of  different  varieties  is  in  bearing,  age  of  trees,  and  their 
general  conditions  from  year  to  year. 

With  some  authentic  information  of  this  kind  in  hand,  even  approxi- 
mately correct  and  comparatively  recent,  it  would  be  of  incalculable  help 
to  the  general  public  as  well  as  the  trade.  Not  only  would  it  benefit  the 
grower  in  aiding  him  to  the  proper  selection  of  new  trees  most  likely  to 
show  a  profit  etc.  but  it  would  also  enlighten  the  dealers  and  buyers  who 
are  "in  the  dark"  half  the  time  as  to  what  apples  are  really  in  the  coun- 
try, and  what  prospects  are  for  the  near  future  with  respect  to  the  supply 
of  the  several  varieties  of  apples.  And  apples  are  merely  used  for  illus- 
tration, for  what  is  true  of  this  fruit  will  apply  to  nearly  all  other  lines 
of  produce. 

Nothing,  I  insist,  would  do  more  to  put  the  produce  business  on  the 
higher  plane  on  which  it  should  rest  than  proper  treatment  of  the  busi- 
ness by  the  United  States  government.  Some  efforts  have  been  made  of 
late  by  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor  in  the  way  of  practical 
research  into,  and  the  collection  of  statistical  data  relating  to  different 
produce  subjects,  but  they  fail  to  cover  the  ground  as  it  should  be  covered, 
and  must  be  covered  to  be  of  much  value. 

We  are  fairly  safe  in  assuming  that  the  government  will  never  give  the 
various  subjects  proper  attention  until  the  demand  is  made,  and,  of 
course,  the  demand  must  be  insistent, — a  kind  of  emergency  call  to  get 
an  important  industry  properly  regulated  and  duly  recognized  so  as 
to  be  on  a  basis  with  mining,  stock  raising,  etc. 

Maybe  it  is  no  great  wonder  that  the  general  sentiment  relating  to  the 
trade  is  of  an  indifferent,  if  not  an  undesirable  sort,  since  the  trade  has 
apparently  never  seen  fit  to  help  foster  a  better  sentiment  about  itself. 
It  is  axiomatic  that  a  man  is  usually  taken  by  the  world  at  his  own  price. 
The  same  applies  to  a  collection  of  individuals,  for  sentiment  is  more 
easily  generated,  fostered,  crystallized  and  expressed  by  an  aggregation 
of  people  than  by  single  individuals  operating  independently,  if  at  all. 

I  think  no  prolonged  argument  is  necessary  to  prove  that  nothing  would 
have  a  more  salutary  and  far  reaching  effect  in  correcting  in  the  mind 
of  the  general  public  some  manifestly  erroneous  ideas  about  produce 
affairs  than  for  Uncle  Sam  to  issue  some  figures  on  different  phases  of 
the  business  from  time  to  time,  which  would  not  only  establish  the  im- 
portance of  the  produce  business  along  with  banking,  manufacturing, 
transportation  etc.  but  would  be  of  great  interest  and  enlightenment  to  the 
country  at  large.  Sucli  information  would  enable  the  general  public  to 
form  a  more  intelligent  idea  of  the  probable  future  cost  of  food  products, 
which  is  one. of  the  prime  factors  in  the  cost  of  living, — itself  a  question 


PUBLIC  ESTIMATE  OF  TRADE  163 

too  little  studied  and  understood  nowadays  with  our  complex  mode  of 
living  and  peculiar  economic  problems. 

It  is  needless  to  point  out  that  such  complete,  correct  information  as 
I  have  in  mind  would  be  of  as  much,  if  not  more  direct  benefit  to  the 
growers  and  shippers  than  to  buyers  and  jobbers,  although  the  benefits 
would  be  shared  directly  and  indirectly  by  everybody  in  the  trade. 

That  a  revised  and  corrected  public  sentiment  about  the  trade  is 
highly  desirable  cannot  be  doubted  for  a  moment.  Think  what  a  differ- 
ence it  would  make,  for  instance,  in  the  matter  of  loans  from  banks,  if 
the  produce  business  were  generally  recognized  as  being  second  to  none 
in  importance  when  measured  by  dollars  and  cents. 

Also,  think  what  a  difference  it  would  make  in  your  interest  rate  and  the 
security  often  required  if  you  could  tell  your  banker  in  a  few  sentences 
just  what  the  supply  is  of  a  given  commodity  on  which  you  seek  a  loan 
to  carry  your  deal  through,  or  if  you  could  submit  a  table  of  authentic 
figures  showing  the  actual  volume  of  and  average  annual  .profits  in  such 
articles  heretofore.  As  a  general  rule,  bankers  are  skittish  of  ventures 
that  lack  some  substantial  element  of  certainty  when  a  proposition  for 
accommodation  comes  before  them. 

If  the  best  informed  poultry  men  or  cabbage  dealer  in  the  country  were 
asked  off  hand  by  his  banker  why  he  felt  sure  the  commodity  in  which 
he  is  specially  interested  is  good  or  bad  for  an  investment,  his  reply 
would  necessarily  be  indefinite  and  probably  incorrect  at  that  from  an 
up-to-date  business  standpoint,  which  absolutely  requires  specific  data. 

We  have  such  a  wonderful  country,  so  full  of  so  many  different  kinds 
of  things  that  even  those  who  pretend  to  specialize  in  one  particular  thing 
are  totally  unable  to  keep  pace  with  trade  matters  so  as  to  be  reasonably 
sure  of  their  ground.  Then  too,  a  man's  judgment  is  so  often  badly 
warped  by  his  own  interests.  A  man  may  fancy  he  has  learned  about 
all  there  is  in  his  line  that  is  worth  while,  and  generally  when  he  reaches 
such  a  conclusion  it  is  about  time  for  him  to  retire,  for  his  day  of  use- 
fulness is  well  nigh  past.  The  very  complexity  and  enormity  of  the  prod- 
uce business  puts  it  at  once  beyond  the  range  of  any  individual,  or  asso- 
ciation of  individuals  short  of  the  general  government,  so  far  as 
keeping  in  touch  with  the  entire  country  is  concerned. 

The  sooner  the  trade  wakes  up  to  the  importance  of  awakening  the 
general  government  that  it  is  high  time  the  public  and  the  trade  be  given 
the  facts,  and  as  nearly  the  whole  of  the  facts  as  possible,  about  the 
leading  articles  of  fruits  and  produce  in. the  most  up-to-date,  authentic 
fashion,  the  better  it  will  be  for  the  entire  country.  - 

And  why  not?     Our  country  is   rich  beyond  the  dreams  of  avarice. 


164  PRODUCE   MARKETS   AND  MARKETING 

Every  year  Congress  appropriates  funds  for  nearly  every  conceivable 
purpose,  running  all  the  way  probably  from  a  campaign  of  warfare  re- 
quiring our  soldiers  to  shoot  ideas  of  democracy  into  a  lot  of  half  naked 
orientals,  clear  through  the  gamut  of  expenditures  to  some  subtle  astro- 
nomical calculations  having  to  do  with  the  probable  effect  of  March  winds 
on  the  planet  Mars. 

In  short,  the  country  spends  money  like  a  drunken  sailor  for  providing 
information  about  nearly  everything  else  you  can  mention.  Almost  every 
other  industry  gets  proper  recognition,  but  in  the  case  of  the  different 
kinds  of  produce  I  suppose  most  of  us  in  the  trade  have  been  half  afraid 
we  would  be  called  presumptuous  upstarts  if  a  request  had  been  made 
for  Uncle  Sam  to  open  a  general  account  for  the  several  departments  of 
the  fruit  and  produce  business  to  keep  track  of  the  expenditures  in  try- 
ing to  help  the  trade  and  the  public  generally  to  figure  out  how  high  the 
cost  of  living  may  go  if  the  business  of  growing  and  marketing  produce 
is  not  made  to  rest  upon  more  correct  data  than  is  now  available. 

The  benefit  of  such  information  as  the  United  States  government  could 
and  should  collect  and  distribute  relating  to  produce  affairs  every  year, 
must  be  quite  evident,  especially  when  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of 
opening  up  new  territory  for  marketing  various  products.  At  present 
every  firm  or  every  shipper  has  to  go  to  considerable  pains  to  find  out 
as  best  they  can  what  different  markets  require,  and  how  fruits  and  prod- 
uce should  be  prepared  and  put  on  the  market.  Much  of  the  people's 
time  and  money  must  needs  be  sacrificed  in  unnecessary  experiment  of 
this  kind,  and  hundreds  are  going  ahead  making  the  same  old  mistakes 
every  year. 

Understand,  I  am  not  taking  the  absurd  position  that  Uncle  Sam  should 
be  expected  to  do  what  is  necessary  for  the  individual  to  perform  in 
transacting  his  business,  but  my  plea  is  for  the  general  government  iff 
do  that  which  will  help  the  individual  or  firm  to  better  handle  his  busi' 
ness,  and  which  assistance  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case  can  be  sup- 
plied best  by  the  national  government. 

I  am  fully  aware  that  I  am  taking  desperate  chances  at  being  severely 
criticised,  both  by  the  politicians  who  may  have  to  explain  why  they 
cannot  arrange  sufficient  appropriations  to  carry  out  the  suggestions  I 
have  made,  and  also  by  that  contingent  in  the  fruit  and  produce  busi- 
ness, who  are  estimable  gentlemen  in  their  way  but  who  resent  any  in- 
trusion from  people  out  of  the  trade  who  are  disposed  to  tamper  with 
things. 

As  to  the  politicians  who  vote  the  appropriations:  they  can  find  the 
means  when  the  time  comes.  As  to  those  in  the  trade  who  might  look 


PUBLIC  ESTIMATE  OF  TRADE  165 

upon  the  plan  for  the  general  government  to  take  some  cognizance  of 
produce  matters  as  an  "unwarranted  assumption,"  I  have  only  the  pity 
and  commiseration  we  should  always  entertain  for  those  who  are  so  fool- 
ish as  to  stand  in  their  own  light  and  who  apparently  aim  to  keep  the 
light  from  shining  upon  others. 

Naturally,  the  necessity  for  the  work  to  be  undertaken  by  Uncle  Sam 
must  be  made  clear,  and  the  demand  must  be  properly  framed  and  pre- 
sented. Just  what  lines  should  be  covered  first  is  hard  to  say,  as  there  is 
so  much  to  do  that  it  could  only  be  handled  piece  by  piece.  Much  of  the 
investigation  will  be  tedious  and  costly,  but  the  rank  and  file  should  be 
collected  and  classified  with  comparative  ease  and  without  too  much 
cost. 

By  all  means,  at  least  a  beginning  should  be  made  by  the  general  gov- 
ernment to  give  proper  treatment  to  the  fruit  and  produce  public,  and 
since  this  industry  has  been  so  badly  neglected  in  the  past  it  would  seem 
reasonable  that  a  double  portion  ought  to  be  forthcoming  as  a  sort  of 
atonement  for  past  treatment  of  the  trade. 

Once  the  truth  is  known  in  regard  to  the  extent  and  importance  of 
the  fruit  and  produce  business  it  is  a  foregone  conclusion  that  not  nearly 
so  many  men  in  the  trade  will  be  asked  to  turn  out  of  the  road  while 
some  toy  magnate  or  lottery  promoter  passes  by.  The  business  public, 
as  well  as  the  general  public,  will  like  produce  folks  better,  and  think 
more  kindly  of -the  produce  interests  when  the  people  in  the  trade  realize 
the  estimate  placed  upon  the  business  by  the  larger  percentage  of  the 
general  public  is  wrong,  and  it  is  resolved  once  for  all  to  have  the  usual 
erroneous  estimate  revised  and  corrected. 

Some  action  of  the  nature  I  have  indicated  is  almost  sure  to  be  taken 
within  the  near  future.  The  trade  has  been  asleep  on  this  subject  for 
a  long  while.  Now  that  day  is  breaking  I  hope  we  shall  see  our  people 
waking  up. 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

BUTTER 

So  much  has  been  written  on  the  technical  side  of  butter  making  and 
the  creamery  business  generally  that  the  author  feels  inclined  to  refrain 
from  any  comment  whatever  on  that  feature  of  the  butter  business,  even  if 
he  were  capable  of  adding  anything  new  to  the  subject  by  undertaking  a 
technical  article. 

Besides,  our  concern  in  this  chapter  as  elsewhere  is  chiefly  with  the 
practical  as  opposed  to  the  theoretical,  and  with  the  marketing  instead 
of  the  actual  growing  or  manufacturing  of  different  kinds  of  produce. 
Therefore,  our  attention  is  centered  mainly  on  the  handling  of  butter 
from  the  time  it  leaves  the  butter  maker  until  it  reaches  the  consumer, 
which  in  itself  is,  indeed,  an  interesting  as  well  as  an  intricate  subject 
for  investigation  and  study. 

Beyond  doubt  the  butter  business  is  one  of  the  most  e*xact  and  clean 
cut  of  all  the  various  specialties  in  the  produce  field.  Based  on  an 
approximately  accurate  system  of  grading  by  points  involving  such  fea- 
tures as  color,  body,  flavor,  salt,  package,  etc.  the  expert  can  score  a  line 
and  establish  a  grade  with  almost  the  certainty  that  the  assayer  de- 
termines the  commercial  value  of  metallic  ores.  To  the  uninitiated  a 
scoring  contest  looks  like  a  stupid  undertaking,  for  the  average  person 
outside  the  trade  seems  to  be  imbued  with  the  idea  that  "butter  is  butter/' 

That  the  scoring  contests  held  in  different  sections  of  the  country  from 
time  to  time  are  beneficial  in  an  educational  way,  and  that  the  a'lmost 
exact  system  of  grading  and  selling  butter  in  vogue  all  over  the  country 
is  the  slow  outgrowth  of  many  years  of  careful  experimenting,  and,  there- 
fore, well  and  logically  founded,  can  hardly  be  questioned  for  a  moment. 

Whatever  else  may  be  said  of  the  present  scheme  of  handling  butter 
it  remains  quite  clear  that  there  is  much  to  commend  in  the  system  that 
butter  makers  and  dealers  have  worked  out,  and  which  is  in  use  with 
only  slight'  modifications  everywhere  in  America.  The  reasonable  ex- 
actness in  establishing  grades  enables  the  trade  to  buy  and  sell  the  va- 

166 


BUTTER  167 

rious  grades  of  butter  011  a  basis  of  their  real  market  value,  provided  they 
do  not  confuse  price  and  value  too  much. 

Among  buyers  in  the  leading  markets  grades  are  represented  for  what 
they  actually  are,  and  prices  are  mostly  based  on  the  relative  merits  of 
the  grades  being  bought  and  sold.  Creamery  firsts  or  extra  firsts  could 
hardly  be  run  out  as  specials  or  extras,  unless  the  lines  be  very  fine  and 
the  market  firm  with  a  scarce  supply.  In  most  cases  the  buyer  looks 
at  a  line  that  is  represented  as  specials,  extras,  extra  firsts,  firsts,  seconds, 
"packing,"  etc.,  and  it  is  merely  a  question  of  first,  being  satisfied  as 
to  the  quality  or  the  grade,  and  second,  getting  buyer  and  seller  together 
on  a  price.  And  if  a  line  is  represented  and  sold  at  a  price,  assuming  a 
certain  grade  of  certain  quality,  and  if  further  inspection  of  a  car  lot, 
for  instance,  showed  the  stock  to  be  not  up  to  the  grade  represented  it 
usually  is  the  case  that  a  second  inspection  is  called  for,  and  a  more 
careful  examination  is  required  so  as  to  make  sure  what  is  the  actual 
grade  and  quality  of  the  butter  in  question. 

It  should  be  stated  for  the  benefit  of  those  not  familiar  with  the  system 
of  modern  butter  inspection  that  even  in  the  inspection  of  a  car  lot  of 
about  400  tubs  it  is  generally  required  that  only  a  certain  number  of 
packages,  usually  running  from  10  to  20  tubs  be  inspected  in  order  to  fix 
the  grade  and  quality  of  the  whole  line. 

To  inspect  a  tub  of  butter  a  "trier,"  which  is  a  long  concave  blade, 
is  inserted  or  bored  through  the  tub  from  top  to  bottom  or  from  the  side 
of  a  "stripped"  tub,  and  a  round,  peg-like  block  is  taken  out  and  after- 
wards fitted  back  into  place  when  the  inspector  is  through  with  his  in- 
spection of  the  sample, — smelling,  tasting,  observing  the  grain,  etc. 

In  handling  undergrades  such  as  packing  stock,  roll  butter,  dairy  butter, 
etc.  it  is  often  the  case  that  a  casual  inspection  is  all  that  is  required  to 
show  what  grade  the  stock  must  take,  but  upon  a  closer  inspection  a 
trier  is  necessary  to  go  down  to  see  what  is  in  the  middle  and  in  the 
bottom  of  the  package. 

Rut  these  tests  have  to  do  only  with  the  practical  side  of  scoring,  and 
it  is  necessary  to  go  into  chemical  analysis  to  determine  the  amount  of 
moisture,  butter  fat,  etc.  contained  in  a  sample  of  butter  in  cases  where 
they  must  be  ascertained. 

Of  late  years  a  great  deal  has  been  heard  on  the  subject  of  moisture 
in  butter;  excessive  moisture  over  the  sixteen  per  cent  prescribed  by 
federal  regulations  has  caused  the  Internal  Revenue  department  to  be 
on  the  alert,  and  no  little  trouble  has  resulted  to  those  who  have  been 
careless  in  observing  the  law  on  this  subject. 

No  one   who  has   followed   the  butter  deal   carefully   can   hesitate  in 


168  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

saying  that  the  effect  of  existing  federal  laws  relative  to  moisture  has 
had  a  salutary  effect  on  the  butter  trade  generally.  A  few  years 
ago  the  best  buttermaker  for  the  creamery  was  the  one  who  could  carry 
out  most  neatly  the  "irrigating  process,"  and  put  out  the  maximum  of 
water  with  the  minimum  of  butter. 

It  was  plain  to  see  that  the  end  of  this  sort  of  business  would  have 
to  come  sooner  or  later.  Not  only  did  the  excess  moisture  put  a  premium 
on  dishonesty,  but  it  put  serious  obstacles  in  the  way  of  an  honest  man's 
making  a  dollar.  Dealers  who  were  stocked  up  heavily  found  it  a  hard 
job  to  sell  "irrigated"  lines  of  stock  either  in  domestic  or  foreign  markets. 
There  is  no  telling  the  time,  the  money  and  the  peace  of  mind  that  have 
been  exhausted  and  wasted  trying  to  move  butter  that  was  "doped"  up 
to  sell,  and  those  who  made  it  purposely  with  too  much  water  in  it  were 
just  as  much  a  swindler  as  the  professional  con  man  whose  favorite  pas- 
time is  found  in  working  off  gold  bricks  on  verdant  hayseeds. 

But  the  moisture  question  is  still  an  unsolved  problem  when  viewed 
from  every  angle.  Opinions  vary  widely  as  to  just  how  moisture  should 
be  handled  in  different  localities  in  different  seasons.  Authorities  are  a 
unit,  however,  that  much  excess  over  sixteen  per  cent  is  showing  more 
water  than  is  really  necessary  or  desirable,  but  some  maintain  that  the 
rigid  adherence  to  the  sixteen  per  cent  and  less  is  an  unreasonable  hard- 
ship on  the  trade.  Still  it  is  difficult  to  see  why  the  law  should  not  be 
complied  with  since  its  object  is  for  the  safe  guarding  and  improvement 
of  the  butter  industry  at  large,  and  it  looks  as  if  federal  authorities  mean 
business  when  they  say  the  law  must  be  obeyed.  There  is  much  less 
trouble  over  this  moisture  question  than  a  few  years  ago. 

Efforts  were  made  a  year  or  two  ago  by  representatives  of  the  Dairy 
Division  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  to  procure  samples  of 
butter  coming  on  the  larger  markets,  and  proceed  to  collect  the  tax  of 
ten  cents  per  pound  levied  on  "adulterated"  butter  if  samples  showed  an 
excess  of  moisture.  But  when  the  matter  was  put  up  squarely  before  fed- 
eral authorities  at  Washington  some  months  ago  it  was  decided  that  the 
creamerymen,  and  not  the  dealers  in  the  distributing  centers,  should  be 
held  accountable  for  excess  moisture.  In  the  first  place,  if  buyers  and 
distributers  should  be  held  to  account  for  moisture  it  would  put  them  to 
no  end  of  red  tape  and  useless  expense  if  they  should  undertake  to  be 
sure  of  the  moisture  in  all  stock  they  might  handle.  Besides,  no  analysis 
except  the  "official"  tests  are  recognized  by  Uncle  Sam,  and  it  has  been 
argued,  therefore,  that  if  government  inspection  must  be  had  and  must 
be  final,  that  it  should  take  place  at  the  creamery  where  the  butter  is 
made,  and  the  butter  maker  should  be  held  to  account  if  too  much  water 


PATRONS     DELIVERING      CREAM      AT     A      MINNESOTA     CREAMERY 


INTERIOR   OF   A    CREAMERY   AT   OOSTCAMP,   BELGIUM 


BUTTER  169 

is  in  the  butter  shipped  or  sold  by  his  creamery  or  factory.  Undoubtedly 
this  contention  is  based  on  sound  logic,  and  it  looks  as  if  the  policy  is  to 
be  carried  out  it  must  result  in  a  comprehensive  system  of  creamery  in- 
spection that  will  tax  to  the  utmost  even  Uncle  Sam  to  fully  execute  the 
undertaking.  But  faithful  government  officials  have  done  a  great  deal  to 
help  the  creamerymen  in  this  respect. 

One  positive  benefit  coming  from  government  regulation  of  the  moisture 
question  has  been  to  put  the  butter  business  on  a  more  sure  foundation, 
for  it  has  enabled  the  trade  to  be  more  certain  what  a  tub  of  butter 
shall  contain.  Of  course,  there  are  limitations  to  the  possible  benefits 
that  may  be  reasonably  expected  from  a  rigid  federal  inspection  and 
supervision  of  the  moisture  percentage  and  other  matters  relating  to  the 
industry,  but  it  cannot  be  successfully  denied  that  any  remedy  short 
of  the  regulations  enforced  by  the  federal  government  will  ever  be  satis- 
factory and  effective.  At  most,  state  laws  are  a  joke  when  it  comes  to 
interstate  traffic,  and  it  is  generally  known  that  by  far  the  larger  part 
of  the  butter  produced  in  one  state  is  consumed  in  some  other  state  that 
cannot  possibly  exercise  control  over  the  manufacture  of  a  commodity 
made  outside  its  own  borders. 

Again,  there  is  always  some  difficulty  in  having  local  authorities  take 
proper  interest  in  the  enforcement  of  laws  designed  to  benefit  citizens 
of  some  other  remote  section  or  city.  In  some  states  the  dairy  and  food 
commissioners  have  rendered  themselves  very  unpopular  because  they 
have  insisted  that  creameries,  cheese  factories,  etc.  should  be  kept  clean 
and  in  a  passably  sanitary  condition.  When  there  is  opposition  to  the 
efforts  of  state  officers  who  are  disposed  to  discharge  their  duty  as  they 
see  it  to  the  general  public,  and  when  petty  politics  are  allowed  to  inter- 
vene to  render  void  the  efforts  of  men  trying  to  promote  the  principles 
of  real  progress,  of  decency  and  cleanliness,  to  say  nothing  of  square 
business  dealings,  it  looks  as  if  any  fair  minded  man  must  concede  that 
Uncle  Sam  has  not  only  the  right,  but  a  distinct  duty  to  perform  in  the 
butter  and  cheese  field  in  order  to  secure  clean  methods  and  honest 
business  dealings. 

Still  it  is  no  more  from  the  standpoint  of  enforcing  proper  regulations 
that  the  general  government  should  take  an  interest  in  the  dairy  industry, 
than  to  lend  encouragement  for  further  progress  in  these  branches  which 
have  made  wonderful  strides  during  the  past  few  years,  and  which  will 
develop  more  wonders  in  the  near  future  if  the  right  campaign  is  mapped 
out  and  followed. 

New  territory  is  constantly  being  opened  where  profitable  dairying 
can  be  carried  on,  and  the  information  as  to  such  essentials  as  will  assist 


170  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

in  getting  the  industry  on  its  feet,  and  such  help  of  a  general  character 
as  may  he  needed,  can  be  supplied  best  by  and  through  proper  federal 
influence  and  assistance. 

Our  national  government  has  heretofore  been  fairly  liberal  with  the 
money  appropriated  to  improve  and  foster  dairying,  and  much  good  has 
been  acomplished  thereby,  both  to  the  industry  itself  and  to  the  country 
at  large.  However,  much  more  money  will  be  necessary  to  develop  the 
most  efficient  dairying,  and  the  butter  and  cheese  dealers  should  assist 
in  keeping  this  matter  prominently  before  the  public,  and  especially  in 
the  minds  of  those  who  make  up  the  appropriations, — the  United  States 
Senators  and  Congressmen.  The  same  may  be  said  to  apply  to  state 
legislators  also. 

While  we  have  under  consideration  the  butter  question  from  a  national 
standpoint,  and  the  general  effects  of  federal  laws  on  the  industry,  some 
comment  on  oleomargarine,  alias  butterine,  may  not  be  wholly  out  of 
place.  Undoubtedly,  oleo  is  the  bogey  man  of  the  creamery  business. 
It  is  the  skeleton  in  the  closet  that  is  threatened  when  little  boys  are 
fretful,  refuse  to  go  to  sleep,  and  delight  to  keep  people  awake  late  at 
night. 

Oleo  is  the  scapegoat,  the  square  of  the  circle,  the  veritable  bete  noir 
of  the  butter  trade.  While  the  writer  knows  full  well  that  butterine  is 
always  a  factor  that  must  be  reckoned  with,  he  feels  sure  that  the  trade 
at  large  has  been  subject  to  paroxysms  of  fear  that  King  Oleo  would  put 
people  out  of  business,  whon  there  has  hardly  been  cause  for  serious 
apprehension.  This  is  especially  true  since  the  passage  of  laws  several 
years  ago  providing  for  a  tax  of  ten  cents  per  pound  on  colored  oleo, 
and  a  quarter  cent  tax  on  the  uncolored  product. 

The  author  knows  he  will  be  criticised  for  the  statement,  but  he  is 
one  of  a  fairly  large  number  of  people  in  and  out  of  the  trade  who 
recognize  that  there  was  never  a  more  glaring  piece  of  class  legislation 
in  this  country  than  the  above  mentioned  oleo  tax.  Instead  of  fixing  the 
tax  as  it  is,  a  severe  penalty  should  have  been  provided  for  those  who 
might  be  caught  selling  colored  oleo  for  genuine  creamery  butter. 

Talk  about  the  federal  tax  on  oleo  to  prevent  imposition  on  the  dear 
public !  Bah !  What  did  we  see  every  blessed  day  in  the  produce  busi- 
ness before  the  Pure  Food  law  was  passed,  but  a  continued  round  of 
deception  and  fraud  so  far  as  the  general  public  was  concerned? 

Butter  was  sold  for  "Elgin  butter"  that  probably  was  never  in  a  thou- 
sand miles  of  Elgin.  True  enough,  it  may  have  been  real  butter,  but 
the  point  remains  that  it  was  fraudulently  represented  to  be  what  it  was 
not.  Of  course,  it  takes  an  Elgin  butter  man  to  get  the  full  point  of 


BUTTER  171 

the  joke,  for  he  can  tell  you  how  somebody  was  trading  on  the  reputation 
of  his  product  and  coining  money  on  the  quality  of  the  "Elgin  butter" 
which  he  had  not. 

No  little  agitation  has  been  heard  the  past  few  years  on  the  part  of 
the  average  consumer  for  the  repeal  of  the  government  tax  on  oleo,  be- 
cause prices  have  been  so  high  for  creamery  butter.  This  is  worth  bear- 
ing in  mind  and  we  shall  probably  have  occasion  to  refer  to  the  subject 
later  on  in  the  course  of  this  chapter,  and  maybe  have  it  forced  upon 
our  unwilling  attention  eventually  outside  this  work  in  a  way  that  will 
compel  us  to  recognize  that  the  public  will  have  its  way  in  the  end  when 
a  subject  of  such  vital  interest  is  at  issue.  If  oleomargarine  is  properly 
put  up  and  sold  for  just  exactly  what  it  is  I  believe  it  can  do  no  harm 
to  those  who  have  good  stomachs  and  want  to  save  the  difference  in  price 
between  it  and  real  butter. 

The  attention  of  the  butter  trade  all  over  the  country  has  been  called 
to  the  question  of  "premiums"  and  fictitious  quotations  the  past  few 
years,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  system  of  handling  butter  will  someday 
be  purged  of  this  evil,  for  I  have  no  hesitancy  in  calling  it  an  evil,  and 
also  going  on  record  with  the  statement  that  anything  over  or  beyond 
a  straight,  bona  fide  price  quoted  on  the  actual  buying  and  selling  basis 
in  a  given  market  is  wrong,  and  such  premiums  are  a  reflection  either 
on  the  judgment  of  men  responsible  for  them,  or  else  a  severe  criticism  on 
the  morals  of  the  committees  or  exchanges  that  tolerate  them. 

It  is  not  enough  to  say  that  "everybody  knows  about  them,  so  what 
is  the  difference?"  That  is  not  the  question.  It  is  an  issue  between  right 
and  wrong.  In  the  old  graft  ridden  days  of  corrupt  transportation  the 
so-called  freight  rebates  were  "known"  by  a  majority  of  the  large 
shippers,  and  it  was  often  asked  "What  is  the  difference?"  An  enlight- 
ened public  sentiment  in  this  country  will  not  often  take  time  to  answer 
such  questions  except  with  a  knock-out  blow,  and  I  agree  that  the  quicker 
the  blow  is  administered  the  better,  especially  for  the  public  generally, 
for  he  that  essays  to  foist  a  corrupt  practice  and  offer  as  his  excuse  the 
threadbare  argument  that  "everybody  knows  about  it  and  does  it,"  is  a 
moral  reprobate  who  needs  a  severe  jolt  to  show  him  he  is  a  nuisance 
if  not  an  enemy  towards  the  general  public,  as  well  as  towards  the 
decent  element  in  the  line  of  business  in  which  he  is  engaged. 

The  butter  trade  will  not  soon  forget  the  strenuous  campaign  in  New 
York  a  few  years  ago  over  the  legality  of  fictitious  butter  quotations,  and 
the  scathing  arraignment  of  premiums  in  the  decision  rendered  by  Judge 
Jay  cox  in  making  permanent  an  injunction  against  "premiums"  will  stand 
,as  an  epoch  making  event  in  establishing  the  fact  that  a  bona  fide  quota- 
tion is  the  only  one  worthy  of  the  name. 


172  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

The  opinion  of  the  court  that  the  butter  quotation  committee  of  the 
New  York  Mercantile  Exchange  had  made  quotations  "deliberate,  wilful, 
intentional,  fraudulent  and  systematic"  stands  today  as  a  blot  on  the 
escutcheon  of  that  great  market,  and  it  should  be  stated  in  passing  that 
other  large  markets  have  been  subject  to  the  same  kind  of  manipulations. 
Let  us  hope  the  time  will  come  when  the  prices  quoted  in  the  leading 
markets  will  represent  bona  fide  trading  prices. 

The  better  element  in  the  trade  has  come  to  realize  that  it  is  just  as 
easy  to  quote  the  market  right  as  to  "muddy  the  water"  with  a  fictitious 
"official"  price  designed  rather  to  conceal  than  reflect  the  real  market  con- 
ditions. It  may  be  taken  as  a  sure  evidence  of  corrupt  practice  in  any 
market  where  there  is  a  studied  effort  to  establish  quotations  either  above 
or  below  the  actual  buying  and  selling  prices. 

Fictitious  quotations  which  have  been  common  from  time  to  time  in 
the  past  have  naturally  given  rise  to  gossip  about  a  so-called  butter  trust. 
While  there  have  been  unmistakable  evidences  now  and  then  of  manipula- 
tion in  butter  prices,  it  is  doubtful  if  anything  like  a  well  defined  trust 
or  monopoly  has  ever  been  or  ever  will  be  successfully  formed  to  control 
the  entire  butter  business. 

In  the  first  place,  butter  is  a  commodity  that  is  not  capable  of  being 
monopolized  as  we  understand  trust  practice  nowadays.  An  actual  mo- 
nopoly must  needs  control  both  the  source  of  supply  and  the  means  of 
distribution.  Although  there  are  some  enoimous  concerns  operating  in 
bhe  creamery  field,  resulting  from  combinations  of  late  years,  and  which 
are  alleged  to  have  put  some  small  competitors  here  and  there  out  of 
business,  yet  it  must  be  admitted  that  these  same  big  fellows  have  their 
troubles,  for  they  are  powerless  to  deal  with  certain  conditions  that  arise 
now  and  then  which  make  them  losers,  apparently  at  their  own  game. 
At  least,  there  is  a  healthy  competition  among  the  big  creameries  in 
getting  milk  in  different  sections  of  the  country.  They  also  find  it  hard 
sledding  against  the  small  creameries  sometimes. 

Decidedly,  there  are  too  many  creameries  operating  independently  of 
each  other  to  make  it  possible  for  any  one  clique  to  gain  absolute  control 
of  the  production  of  butter,  and  it  is  a  plain  case  to  those  who  know  the 
game  that  no  man  or  set  of  men,  however  wise,  wealthy  or  influential, 
can  ever  hope  to  dictate  indefinitely  what  the  markets  shall  or  shall  not 
do,  nor  have  they  anything  like  complete  control  over  the  means  of  dis- 
tribution. The  proposition  is  to'o  big  and  altogether  too  intricate  to 
make  the  butter  market  follow  a  given  course  at  will.  Besides,  it  would 
take  a  pile  of  money  that  would  stagger  the  imagination  to  control  butter 
for  a  period  long  enough  to  make  it  permanent,  and  it  is  certain  nobody  • 


BUTTER  173 

in  the  produce  business  has  ever  yet  displayed  the  rare  ability  to  get 
together  a  sufficient  sum  to  handle  the  entire  make  of  even  a  single 
season. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  speculative  nature  of  butter  makes  it  an  un- 
inviting venture  among  most  monied  men  who  seek  a  safe  investment  and 
preferably  one  that  promises  a  sure  return,  though  that  return  may  be 
small.  Butter  is  by  no  means  a  sure  thing  so  far  as  profits  go.  In  fact, 
it  often  loses  money. 

When  we  noted  in  a  former  chapter  that  the  entire  produce  field  is, 
at  best,  a  line  in  which  the  speculative  element  enters  largely,  we  might 
have  cited  butter  as  a  good  example  of  this  fact.  However,  butter  is 
perhaps  no  better  and  no  worse  as  a  speculative  proposition  than  other 
produce  commodities,  although  butter  is  at  times  as  sensitive  as  wheat 
or  stocks,  and  it  has  made  legions  happy  or  miserable  according  as  they 
have  hit  it  right  or  wrong,  just  as  we  observe  in  the  grain  pit  or  on 
the  stock  exchange. 

But  it  is  very  doubtful  if  there  are  many  safer  or  surer  commodities 
in  which  to  invest  on  an  average  nowadays  than  good  No.  1  packing 
stock  when  bought  in  the  spring  or  early  summer  at  the  right  price,  as 
we  have  generally  seen  the  supply  below  the  demand  for  the  past  several 
years,  and  from  present  indications  it  will  not  be  in  excess  of  the  re- 
quirements so  as  to  cause  anything  like  heavy  losses  in  the  near  future 
unless  some  radical  change  should  upset  the  butter  deal  in  an  unexpected 
way.  Many  cases  are  on  record  the  past  few  years  where  good  packing 
stock  has  showed  a  profit  of  from  ten  to  twenty-five  per  cent  within  ninety 
days,  and  any  investment  which  can  do  this  well  at  making  money  even 
half  the  time  must  be  given  credit  for  possessing  many  points  in  its  favor. 

Of  course,  when  packing  stock  makes  money  it  is  usually  true  that 
creamery  stock  is  also  making  money,  but  this  does  not  necessarily  follow. 

Butter  has  become  so  much  a  staple  food  product  these  days  that  men 
are  sometimes  trying  to  take  an  impossible  chance  on  it  as  a  speculative 
proposition.  When  prices  are  marked  too  high  and  business  stagnates, 
butter  can  easily  cause  trouble.  By  expecting  too  much  of  the  deal, 
some  men  precipitate  their  own  undoing  by  trying  to  get  the  uttermost 
farthing,  instead  of  being  willing  to  take  a  fair  profit  and  allow  someone 
else  to  get  part  of  the  reward  that  comes  when  there  is  a  favorable  trend 
in  the  market. 

After  all  is  said  and  done  it  remains  clear  when  butter  is  looked  at 
purely  from  a  speculative  standpoint  that  it  has  many  advantages  when 
compared  closely  with  some  other  produce  commodities.  The  one  fea- 
ture that  enables  holders  of  butter  to  "carry  it  over"  in  storage  until  the 


174      PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

second  year  cannot  be  said  of  a  number  of  other  articles  that  claim  the 
attention  of  speculators  in  produce.  When  butter  is  frozen  solid  and 
carried  under  proper  conditions  it  is  difficult  to  say  how  long  it  may  be 
kept  in  good  shape,  certainly  for  18  or  21  months. 

However,  it  is  the  usual  custom  to  close  out  blocks  of  storage  butter 
before  they  have  been  under  refrigeration  more  than  a  year.  Those  who 
follow  the  game,  figure  that  it  is  best  to  clean  up  before  the  season  is 
over  and  begin  anew  with  fresh  stock  every  summer.  This,  of  course, 
is  only  good  business  judgment,  for  the  matter  of  storage  charges,  in- 
terest on  money  and  increased  insurance  enter  into  prospective  profits 
on  lots  of  butter  that  have  been  held  under  refrigeration  until  the  second 
season  or  longer,  and  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  the  quality  of  butter  is 
not  improved  for  the  long  keeping. 

Pursuant  to  our  aim  to  steer  clear  of  whatever  may  be  of  a  purely 
technical  nature  relating  to  butter  making  and  the  creamery  business 
generally,  I  feel  that  I  should  not  purposely  deviate  at  this  juncture, 
but  the  question  of  hand  separators  is  one  of  such  widespread  interest 
that  I  cannot  ignore  some  comment  on  the  subject,  although  I  have  no 
disposition  to  take  up  unnecessary  time  and  space  handling  the'  matter. 

To  make  a  long  story  short,  hand  separators  are  here  to  stay.  They 
may  have  caused  a  useless  waste  of  cream,  they  may  have  caused  endless 
worry  and  needless  expense,  they  may  yet  cause  a  complete  readjustment 
of  the  whole  butter  business.  But  the  fact  remains  that  the  number  of 
hand  separators  is  constantly  increasing  and  their  use  is  now  well  nigh 
universal.  The  author  has  made  an  impartial,  'and  he  hopes,  a  fairly 
intelligent  study  of  this  question  the  past  few  years,  and  he  is  of  the 
firm  conviction  that  as  hand  separators  are  better  understood  they  will 
be  better  liked. 

True  it  is,  their  use  in  some  localities  has  given  rise  to  a  poorer  grade 
of  butter  owing  to  uneven  quality  as  compared  with  the  product  of  the 
"whole  milk"  plant,  but  if  we  go  a  little  more  deeply  into  the  subject 
we  are  bound  to  decide  that  possibly  the  fault  does  not  lie  in  the  hand 
separators  so  much  as  it  does  with  those  who  use  and  operate  them.  A 
case  in  point  which  will  serve  to  illustrate  my  idea  is  found  in  the  ac- 
counts we  read  of  the  use  of  mahogany  wood  when  the  first  logs  were 
sent  from  the  West  Indies  to  England  many  years  ago,  where  the  cabinet 
makers  and  wood  workers  declared  the  wood  too  hard  to  ever  be  cut 
into  lumber,  and  that  it  dulled  their  tools  so  that  it  was  impossible  ever 
to  do  anything  with  it.  But  the  course  of  events  proved  that  this  view 
of  the  possibilities  of  mahogany  were  premature  and  ill  advised. 

In  the  nature  of  the  case  a  new  system  in  the  handling  of  cream  under 


si 
"5 

>   2 


2  | 

P     > 
>     5 


BUTTER  175 

such  widely  different  conditions  as  we  find  in  various  sections  of  this 
country,  must  take  a  long  while  to  go  into  successful  operation.  Those 
who  are  face  to  face  with  the  separator  problem  should  make  the  best 
of  conditions,  and  strive  to  educate  the  individual  farmer  and  his  wife 
and  family  how  best  to  use  the  separator  so  as  to  produce  the  best  results. 
Already  there  are  many  cases  where  much  has  been  done  in  an  educa- 
tional way,  and  we  find  more  and  more  satisfactory  results  are  coming 
from  hand  separators  properly  used. 

That  there  are  signal  advantages  possessed  by  the  "whole  milk"  process 
over  the  hand  separator  system  no  butter  man  will  deny^  but  the  hand 
separators  and  the  centralizing  plant  have  made  such  headway  of  late 
years  that  it  seems  as  if  the  old  system  is  doomed  to  extinction.  And 
if  money  is  really  lost  to  the  industry  we  may  rest  assured  that  methods 
will  be  gradually  changed  and  modified  until  the  standard  of  quality  in 
the  butter  produced  will  be  improved  so  as  to  obtain  the  maximum  returns 
from  the  minimum  amount  of  cream  and  labor.  A  careful,,  scientific  study 
of  the  treatment  and  handling  of  separator  cream  after  a  few  more  years' 
experience  may  develop  some  startling  results.  To  say  the  least,  the 
field  is  an  inviting  one  for  experiment  and  research. 

Because  of  the  advent  of  the  hand  separator  and  its  widespread  use 
with  more  or  less  satisfactory  results  to  the  butter  trade  at  large,  the 
question  has  been  raised  a  thousand  times:  Will  not  the  high  and  low 
grades  of  butter  be  eliminated  entirely?  It  must  be  confessed  that  for  a 
long  while  it  has  appeared  as  if  a  definite  answer  must  be  made  to  this 
question  it  would  have  to  be  answered  in  the  affirmative.  But  as  we 
have  just  said,  the  future  of  the  hand  separator  is  a  sealed  book  that 
no  man  is  yet  able  to  pry  open  and  read. 

It  would,  indeed,  be  a  sad  commentary  on  the  trade  to  allow  the  hap- 
hazard methods  formerly  in  vogue  to  continue,  and  he  is  blind  to  the 
real  situation  who  supposes  that  the  intelligent  farmer  and  stockman  and 
their  industrious,  intelligent  wives  will  rest  satisfied  with  fifty  or  seventy- 
five  cents  on  the  dollar  for  their  cream  when  they  might  as  well  have  the 
whole  dollar  by  proper  treatment  of  cream  and  using  every  means  to 
make  it  fresh,  pure  and  of  the  highest  quality  when  delivered  to  the 
creamery  to  be  made  into  butter. 

This  is  the  real  solution  of  the  problem  and  the  real  answer  to  the 
question  that  has  been  raised.  If  the  cream  is  right  and  all  of  it  from 
every  farmer  is  right,  it  is  not  far  to  see  that  the  butter  will  be  nearly 
right  also, — at  any  rate,  much  better  than  when  made  of  cream  of  vary- 
ing age,  quality  and  butter  fat.  Centrali/ers  are  gradually  working  out 
better  systems  for  using  this  cream  taken  from  widely  separated  districts. 


176  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

Now,  I  hope  that  I  shall  not  be  charged  with  being  an  apostle  of  the 
hand  separator,  for  I  have  no  interest  in  the  world  in  their  manufacture 
or  sale,  and  my  only  object  in  even  referring  to  them  at  all  in  this  work 
is  because  any  article  purporting  to  cover  the  butter  situation  in  this 
country  would  be  maliciously  incomplete  to  leave  out  entirely  hand 
separators  and  centralizer  plants.  I  repeat  that  they  have  come  to 
stay  and  those  who  are  compelled  to  deal  with  them  and  their  users  should 
strive  to  improve  both,  and  also  devise  plans  to  bring  the  present  system 
up  to  the  highest  possible  efficiency,  for  the  constant  aim  for  higher 
standards  and  better  methods  is  the  secret  of  success  both  in  making 
and  selling  butter. 

No  one  change  in  the  system  of  handling  butter  in  the  last  generation 
has  been  more  far  reaching  than  the  scheme  of  putting  up  prints. 

When  we  come  to  think  about  it,  the  only  wonder  is  that  it  was  not 
done  long  before.  The  butter  man  who  is  wise  is  always  looking  for  a 
plan  to  make  the  name  of  his  product  a  household  word,  to  advertise  bis 
brand  so  that  people  will  ask  for  it  when  they  go  to  buy.  It  is  a  hard 
job  to  do  this  with  tub  butter  under  the  old  system  where  the  retail 
grocer  scooped  out  and  weighed  what  every  individual  customer  wanted. 

Besides,  all  tubs  look  about  the  same,  and  the  foxy  grocer  who  might 
have  a  tub  of  real  extras  today  and  sold  a  customer  who  might  come  a 
few  days  later  to  get  "some  of  the  same  butter  I  got  before,"  would  have 
a  soft  snap  to  charge  the  identical  price  for  a  bit  of  seconds  which  can 
be,  and  often  is  substituted  in  such  cases,  for  be  it  understood  the  average 
retailer  is  not  in  business  for  his  health  and  there  are  many  of  them 
who  are  fond  of  this  kind  of  diversion. 

But  the  pound  print  that  is  put  out  by  a  reputable  wholesaler  or  the 
creamery  itself,  and  which  aims  at  building  up  a  reputation  for  quality 
will  most  likely  make  their  goods  run  about  the  same  on  the  second  or 
third  round  as  on  the  first. 

It  takes  a  pound  print  to  make  butter  susceptible  to  advertising,  and 
we  have  too  many  phenomenal  successes  in  popular  pound  prints  to 
entertain  any  doubt  about  the  possibilities  in  advertising  butter.  And 
when  butter  is  properly  advertised  it  causes  more  butter  to  be  used.  Those 
who  have  used  the  pound  print  system  know  full  well  it  is  absolutely  im- 
perative that  the  standard  of  quality  be  always  maintained.  The  brand 
must  be  protected  and  it  is  next  kin  to  suicide  to  a  brand  to  lower  its 
quality,  for  once  the  public  finds  it  is  being  cheated,  confidence  is  de- 
stroyed and  the  value  of  a  brand  is  gone  forever. 

The  main  reason  given  by  the  moving  spirit  in  the  leading  pound 
print  butter  concern  in  this  country  as  being  responsible  for  the  enor- 


BUTTER  177 

mous  trade  the  concern  has  worked  up,  is  that  the  management  has 
never  departed  from  its  original  policy  to  put  up  the  best  butter  in  the 
best  shape  and  get  paid  for  the  service.  Once  get  a  good  brand  and 
put  up  a  good  grade  and  your  battle  for  success  in  handling  prints  is 
half  won. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  I  desire  to  say  that  any  man  who  wants  to 
succeed  in  the  butter  business  must  be  up-to-date  and  progressive.  It 
is  exacting  in  every  phase.  The  work  is  sometimes  arduous,  but  rarely 
distasteful.  It  is  scientific  to  a  degree,  an  alluring  game  either  from 
the  creamery  or  the  marketing  point  of  view.  Decidedly,  it  is  not  an 
avocation  for  mollycoddles  who  are  looking  for  easy  money  or  soft  snaps, 
or  for  the  commercial  pirates  who  are  out  for  the  coin  and  who  do  not 
care  especially  how  or  where  -they  get  it. 

Butter  has  been  made  and  sold  well,  but  I  expect  improvements  in  both 
branches  of  the  trade,  and  with  good  red  blood  and  trained  gray  matter 
behind  the  different  departments  concerned  in  its  making  and  selling  we 
may  safely  depend  on  some  pleasant  surprises  in  the  future. 


CHAPTER    XXV 

EGGS 

If  the  true  history  of  the  system  of  handling  eggs  could  be  written 
it  would  read  like  a  fairy  tale.  Forsooth,,  a  story  replete  with  elves  and 
grottoes  and  with  moonbeams  playing  hide  and  seek  over  a  placid  lake, 
with  a  Cinderella  frolicking  with  the  fairies,,  could  be  no  more  entranc- 
ing to  one  who  has  followed  closely  the  ins  and  outs,  and  the  ups  and 
downs  of  a  season's  record  of  the  egg  deal  during  any  given  year,  at 
least,  in  the  past  decade. 

It  is  not  exaggerating  to  say  that  no  less  imagination  is  required  to 
enter  into  a  full  understanding  of  the  stories  in  a  juvenile  fairy  book  than 
is  necessary  to  grasp  the  variable  fortunes  of  the  prosaic  commodity 
under  consideration.' 

However,  I  hope  no  staid  egg  man  will  be  so  unkind  as  to  accuse  me 
of  trying  to  belittle  his  honored  calling  by  suggesting  the  comparison 
cited  above,  although  if  someone  is  disposed  to  find  fault  with  me  for 
so  doing  I  have  but  to  declare  that  not  a  few  times  have  I  mused  over 
the  striking  similarity  between  a  downright  fairy  tale  and  the  unsub- 
stantial shadow  of  prospective  profits  in  a  heavy  load  of  high-priced 
eggs  that  hang  trembling  in  the  balance  so  delicately  poised  that  even 
an  excited  breath  sends  the  whole  load  down  with  a  crash  that  makes 
strong  men  shudder  and  all  but  weep  as  the  simple  child  when  he  suffers 
the  first  rude  awakening  from  his  illusion  about  the  capers  of  Santa 
Claus  or  Mother  Goose. 

But  why  open  this  chapter  on  eggs  with  a  dissertation  on  the  seamy 
side?  Wherefore  this  talk  about  fairies?  Shall  I  make  the  bold  con- 
fession that  I  candidly  believe  eggs  are  the  most  speculative  commodity 
in  the  whole  realm  of  produce?  If  so,  I  shall  spare  further  suspense 
and  will  take  you  into  my  confidence  so  as  to  make  a  short  cut  to  the 
meat  of  our  subject  by  saying  I  believe  they  are. 

Obviously,  the  gist  of  my  argument  on  this  matter  must  be  reserved 

178 


EGGS  179 

until  our  story  progresses  further.  Perhaps  I  should  say  that  the  argu- 
ments assert  themselves  as  the  story  unfolds,  for  it  is  my  purpose  to 
write  a  plain,  unvarnished  tale  that  will  be  so  blunt  as  not  only  to 
call  a  spade  by  its  right  name,  but  also  to  call  an  egg  an  egg,  and 
also  to  call  a  fool  a  fool. 

However,  for  fear  my  motives  may  be  misconstrued  I  must  say  a  word 
or  two  about  the  men  who  handle  eggs,  and  who  may  unjustly  accuse 
me  of  making  faces  at  the  whole  fraternity  unless  some  sort  of  explana- 
tion is  presently  forthcoming. 

And  right  here  we  strike  a  snag  when  we  try  even  to  take  a  birds-eye 
view  of  the  complex  aggregation  of  humanity  that  gathers,  buys,  ships, 
stores,  sells  or  gambles  in  these  ovoids  of  food  that  are  produced  in  "nearly 
every  nook  and  corner  of  this  broad  country,  and  which  enter  so  largely 
into  the  daily  food  of  the  nation  as  to  be  considered  a  necessity  in  the 
hovel  and  palace  alike. 

Behold  this  concourse  if  you  can  sweep  a  continent  at  a  glance  with 
your  mind's  eye !  Noble  spectacle  this.  It  embraces  the  housewives  on 
a  thousand  thousand  farms,  the  country  store-keepers  at  as  many  cross- 
roads or  villages,  and  a  legion  of  people  who  make  a  business  of  concen- 
trating lots  of  five  and  ten  to  four  hundred  cases  for  shipment  to 
the  larger  market  centers.  It  embraces,  if  you  please,  a  throng  of  good 
business  men  who  know  little  else  and  study  practically  nothing  but 
eggs,  and  who  usually  turn  their  special  information  and  experience  to 
good  account,  for,  be  it  understood,  some  men  have  made  and  are  still 
making  money  buying  and  selling  eggs  in  a  sane  business  way. 

Then  too,  in  your  concourse  would  be  a  horde  of  speculators  who  look 
like  ordinary  egg  dealers,  who  would  be  found  on  closer  inspection  to  be 
more  like  lunatics  in  a  plunging  match  than  plain  business  men  operating 
on  good  money  in  handling  a  legitimate  business. 

As  subsidiary  factors  you  would  have  to  get  a  line  on  the  bankers  who 
finance  the  deals,  the  storage  men  who  take  care  of  the  enormous  amount 
of  eggs  kept  for  six  or  eight  months  under  refrigeration  with  the  expec- 
tation of  a  profit,  and  also  the  railroad  men  who  look  after  the  shipping 
of  carlots  or  less  from  one  point  to  another  from  the  time  the  eggs  are 
first  collected  at  initial  points  until  they  reach  the  markets  where  they 
are  consumed. 

A  close  observer  would  perhaps  find  some  others  who  could  establish 
their  right  to  stand  up  and  be  counted  with  the  big  egg  trade,  for  it 
easily  includes  all  colors,  creeds  and  conditions  of  humanity.  Any 
enumeration  of  the  egg  people  in  toto  would  probably  include  the  polling 
list  in  many  a  bailiwick  without  the  slightest  change,  and  would  also 


180      PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

permit  the  neighborhood  sewing  circle  in  some  sections  to  be  thrown  in 
for  good  measure. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  in  such  a  concourse  we  find  radical  differences 
of  opinion,  an  utter  lack  of  sympathy  for  one  another's  welfare,  and  an 
absolute  disregard  for  the  broken  bones  and  cracked  heads  of  the  un- 
fortunate players  who  fall  by  the  wayside,  victims,  commercially  speaking, 
of  the  ruthless  mass  on  tackle  plays  or  the  revolving  wedges  as  in  the 
old  style  of  foot-ball? 

Is  it  not  to  be  expected,  may  I  ask,  if  this  bunch,  out  for  the  coin 
and  intoxicated  with  the  passion  for  a  "big  killing,"  would  not  occa- 
sionally run  riot  and  bring  up  with  a  crash  that  sends  the  whole  load 
down  in  a  jiffy? 

Yes,  I  frankly  acknowledge  that  in  opening  this  chapter  I  have  so  far 
taken  the  reader  along  a  pathway  over  the  ragged  mountain-sides  of  egg- 
dom  in  order  to  secure  attention,  as  we  seem  invariably  to  feel  a  keener 
interest  in  the  scenery  if  we  first  behold  the  vast  stretches  of  mountain 
peaks,  and  especially  if  we  view  the  prospect  at  sunrise  from  some 
craggy  point  with  the  eagle  soaring  between  us"  and  the  peaceful  valley 
below. 

Verily,  there  are  counterparts  of  my  crude  word  picture  to  be  found 
in  the  handling  of  eggs.  Some,  of  course,  have  observed  the  game  only 
from  the  peaceful  quiet  of  the  valley  where  the  sunshine  and  the  birds 
are  wont  to  come,  and  who  follow  the  even  tenor  of  their  way  like  ants 
about  the  base  of  Mt.  Everest,  unconscious  of  the  majestic  peak  tower- 
ing above.  Then  too,  others  see  the  alluring  features  of  the  business 
only  from  the  elevated  places  and  seemingly  prefer  a  pair  of  wings  or  a 
balloon  from  which  to  handle  their  trades, — apparently  oblivious  of  the 
fact  that  eggs  are  no  less  subject  to  economical  laws  than  balloons  are 
to  the  law  of  gravitation. 

At  any  rate,  the  egg  business  as  we  find  it  today  is  a  well  developed 
specialty  in  the  produce  field.  That  there  is  sufficient  encouragement  to 
make  a  specialty  of  a  commodity  that  requires  so  many  people  of  so 
many  kinds  to  look  after  its  various  ramifications  is  proof  enough  that 
the  volume  and  value  of  the  business  is  at  least  worthy  of  more  than 
passing  attention. 

He  must  be  imaginative  who  can  give  even  an  appropriate  idea  about 
the  value  of  the  eggs  produced  in  this  country  during  the  run  of  a  year, 
yet  it  does  not  take  a  lively  guesser  to  see  that  the  amount  easily  runs 
into  the  millions,  and  very  likely  into  hundreds  of  millions,  for  think  of 
every  other  man,  woman  and  child  of  a  number  something  like  100,000,000 
people  in  this  country  eating  several  dozen  eggs  during  a  twelve  month. 


EGGS  181 

And  everybody  eats  eggs  nowadays.  Not  only  do  we  find  them  boiled, 
fried,  scrambled,  in  omelets  and  in  "ham  and,"  but  they  enter  largely 
into  cakes,  pies,  cookies  and  buns  of  one  kind  or  another.  Besides,  an 
enormous  amount  of  undergrade  eggs  is  used  for  dressing  leather  and 
for  various  chemical  purposes. 

No  one  food  product  is  so  popular,  if  not  always  so  cheap.  But  whether 
they  are  used  soft  boiled  or  poached  for  the  dyspeptic  or  convalescent,  or 
for  egg-nog  to  placate  the  connoisseur,  they  must  be  had,  and  it  some- 
times occurs  that  the  American  people  can  hardly  be  supplied  with 
enough  eggs  at  any  price.  An  occasional  whim  of  the  public  in  this 
respect,  as  we  have  observed  in  a  former  chapter,  has  been  responsible 
in  no  small  measure  for  the  insane  speculation  that  often  occurs  in  the 
trade,  and  which  is  so  frequently  the  undoing  of  firms  and  individuals  as 
we  shall  see  later  on. 

At  best,  the  egg  deal  when  viewed  at  any  stage  of  the  game  is  eccentric 
and  treacherous.  It  is  as  fickle  as  a  March  wind  on  some  occasions; 
while  at  times  it  shows  the  strength  of  a  stone  wall.  But  the  very  un- 
certainty which  generally  prevails,  and  which  has  been  induced  by  the 
speculative  feature  made  possible  by  the  cold  storages  and  the  banks 
in  recent  years,  it  may  be  set  down  with  double  emphasis  that  by  no 
system  of  logic  or  rule  of  produce  law  can  one  "count  one's  chicks  until 
one's  eggs  are  hatched."  Of  course,  that  is  only  another  way  of  stating 
the  fact  that  no  expected  profits  from  eggs  can  be  called  real  money  until 
the  aforesaid  profits  are  in  hand  and  preferably  to  one's  credit  at  the 
bank. 

I  have  seen  advices  in  a  few  telegrams  received  in  a  large  market 
during  the  winter  while  there  were  yet  heavy  stocks  of  storage  eggs  to  be 
worked  out,  telling  about  scattering  lots  of  fresh  eggs  in  the  South  and 
Southwest  destroy  confidence  among  a  coterie  of  men  whose  aggregate 
holdings  of  cooler  stock  ran  into  the  millions.  I  have  observed  a  hand- 
ful or  two  of  fresh  eggs  put  up  on  the  exchange  in  a  leading  market  at  the 
critical  moment  when  the  outcome  of  a  season's  speculating  was  trembling 
in  the  balance  send  the  whole  crowd  of  traders  on  the  stampede  like  a 
drove  of  steers  on  the  plains.  I  have  seen  the  mercury  play  hide  and 
seek  with  the  zero  point  all  over  the  country,  which  lasted  several  days, 
and  shut  off  egg  production,  causing  the  egg  market  to  go  up  as  fast  as  the 
mercury  went  down,  and  then  fall  itself  as  suddenly. 

In  an  earlier  chapter  we  noted  that  various  factors  are  constantly  at 
work  shaping  conditions  and  prices  of  various  markets  for  different  kinds 
of  produce.  To  clinch  our  point  we  need  only  to  mention  eggs.  Supply 
and  demand,  while  the  main  factors,  without  intelligen*  analysis,  are 
hardly  one,  two,  three  in  the  egg  game. 


182       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

Honestly,  it  seems  to  me  that  eggs  delight  in  being  erratic.  It  is 
seldom  the  deal  happens  to  happen  the  same  way  twice  in  succession. 
Pure  dope  is  unavailing;  to  handicap  the  ponies  is  mere  kindergarten 
exercise  as  compared  with  telling  what  may  or  may  not  befall  eggs. 

But  there  are  lots  of  soothsayers  and  fellows  with  tabulated  nonsense 
every  season  trying  to  beat  a  bunch  of  tom-toms  to  drive  away  the 
eclipse  over  the  face'  of  the  egg  deal,  and  it  may  not  be  foreordained  but 
I  have  been  possessed  of  the  idea  that  if  eggs  can  possibly  have  a  senti- 
ent faculty,  taken  in  the  aggregate,  they  strive  to  make  these  prognostica- 
tors  and  historians  look  like  a  two  spot  by  doing  the  reverse  of  what 
they  figure  out  in  their  premature  dope. 

No  rule  can  be  laid  down  as  an  infallible  guide  for  the  successful 
handling  of  eggs  any  more  than  a  sure  thing  system  can  be  figured  out 
to  beat  the  bookmakers. 

But  it  is  true  of  the  egg  deal  that  plain  ordinary  common  sense  is 
the  best  guide  when  to  buy  and  when  to  sell.  If  the  judgment  of  an 
experienced  produce  man  tells  him  eggs  are  too  high  for  a  fairly  safe 
investment  when  they  are  being  stored,  he  should  have  self-control  enough 
to  play  hands  off.  If  it  is  necessary  to  put  away  some  eggs,  and  he  is 
sure  his  trade  will  want  a  certain  amount  of  stock,  even  at  a  higher 
price  than  looks  safe  as  an  investment,  it  should  be  set  down  as  a  hard 
and  fast  rule  that  so  many  and  no  more  will  be  bought  and  stored.  It 
would  be  a  great  surprise  how  a  bit  of  horse  sense  will  help  now  and 
then  to  deal  with  a  complex  egg  situation,  as  is  true  of  other  similar 
situations  that  arise  in  produce  affairs  every  now  and  then. 

But  when  the  speculative  fever  addles  the  brain  of  your  egg  man,  and 
he  gets  started  on  the  wrong  track,  it  is  a  safe  bet  he  meets  with  a  drub- 
bing sooner  or  later,  for  if  he  wins  the  first  time  he  is  tempted  to  play 
it  stronger  the  next,  and  if  his  load  is  too  heavy  and  the  deal  goes  wrong 
some  way,  as  it  can  and  will  sometimes,  it  may  mean  another  tomb- 
stone in  the  commercial  cemetery,  for  the  official  produce  undertaker  has 
a  knack  at  hustling  egg  speculators  to  an  untimely  grave  without  waiting 
for  mass  of  flowers,  and  there  follows  just  a  plain  obituary  notice  in 
the  newspapers  and  some  empty  egg  cases  are  left  to  show  where  an 
egg  speculator  has  been. 

The  advent  of  the  cold  storages  with  the  services  they  offer  has  wrought 
a  great  change  in  the  system  of  handling  eggs,  and  the  range  of  prices 
in  all  markets  within  the  memory  of  many  a  middle-aged  egg  dealer. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  enter  into  a  discussion  as  to  whether  or  not 
these  changes  have  been  desirable  in  every  respect,  and  it  is  sufficient 
for  our  purposes  to  note  that  they  have  come  and  come  to  stay.  The 


EGGS  183 

application  of  refrigeration  to  the  egg  business,,  resulting  in  their  being 
carried  for  several  months,  is  a  fact  which  we  must  deal  with.  In  a 
previous  chapter  we  observed  that  the  storages  discharge  the  function  of 
a  bank  and  also  an  insurance  company,  and  it  is  only  worth  while  in 
this  connection  to  state  that  the  crazy  speculation  in  storage  eggs  is  due 
almost  entirely  to  the  easy  means  for  speculation  which  have  been  opened 
up  by  these  two  great  aids  in  the  handling  of  eggs,  for  if  they  would 
not  make  it  possible  and  even  encourage  speculation  in  high-priced  eggs, 
as  we  have  frequently  seen  during  the  last  few  years,  it  is  plain  that 
there  would  be  less  trouble.  There  is  a  well  founded  doubt  if  headlong 
plunging  in  high-priced  eggs  has  not  lost  more  money  than  has  ever  been 
made  after  that  system  of  trading. 

While  we  have  the  cold  storage  phase  of  the  egg  deal  under  consider- 
ation it  may  not  be  improper  to  say  a  few  words  about  the  selling  of 
storage  eggs  to  the  consumer  for  the  fresh  article.  For  this  imposition 
a  remedy  must  be  found  sooner  or  later,  and  it  is  imperative  that  the 
consumptive  demand  be  net  reduced  to  a  minimum  by  a  game  of  swindling 
that  springs  from  the  greediness  of  retailers  and  jobbers,  and  which  is 
too  often  encouraged,  I  regret  to  say,  by  some  people  in  the  wholesale 
trade  who  apparently  think  it  is  quite  correct  for  them  to  follow  any 
scheme  that  will  enable  them  to  get  the  largest  possible  profit  today,  but 
who  have  little  concern  for  the  morrow,  or  for  others  in  the  trade  who  may 
have  a  bunch  of  eggs  that  cannot  be  moved  because  the  public  is  held  up 
and  made  to  pay  exorbitant  prices  for  what  eggs  they  buy.  It  does  not 
occur  to  me  that  it  is  at  all  necessary  for  the  public  to  be  humbugged 
in  order  that  storage  eggs  show  a  profit  if  they  are  handled  in  a  legiti- 
mate way.  The  public  need  storage  eggs  as  badly  as  storage  eggs  need 
the  public. 

Just  how  the  remedy  is  to  be  applied  for  the  evil  of  which  I  am  com- 
plaining is  not  so  easy  to  see,  for  any  remedy  that  will  be  effective  will 
be  very  difficult  and  expensive  to  put  into  operation.  Yet  it  is  almost  a 
question  of  self-preservation  in  some  markets  during  certain  critical  times 
that  a  drastic  remedy  against  this  old  time  imposition  be  found  and  ap- 
plied. Federal  regulations  will  probably  be  necessary  to  correct  this  bad 
practice,  and  if  the  United  States  government  takes  hold  of  the  matter 
in  the  right  way  it  is  likely  that  something  will  be  accomplished. 

I  take  it  that  any  food  product  so  generally  used  as  eggs  should  be 
of  sufficient  importance  for  the  United  States  government  to  take  cog- 
nizance of  any  manipulations  which  might  tend  to  affect  the  movement 
or  the  quality  of  such  product,  especially  if  it  is  likely  to  affect  the  public 
health  if  improperly  handled.  At  the  same  time  I  do  not  want  to  be  mis- 
understood as  endorsing  the  senseless  clamor  we  have  had  against  storage 


184  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

eggs  as  such,  and  which  has  come  mostly  from  people  who  have  gen- 
erally made  no  first  hand  investigations  into  the  matter. 

But  it  cannot  be  denied  that  storage  eggs  are  bought  right  and  left  in 
a  score  of  markets  during  the  fall  and  winter  in  a  jobbing  way  at  twenty 
to  twenty-five  cents  per  dozen,  and  are  run  out  by  the  retailers  to  con- 
sumers in  half  dozen  or  dozen  lots  at  thirty  to  forty  cents  a  dozen,  or 
even  more  sometimes.  That  they  have  nearly  always  been  sold  for  fresh 
eggs  is  too  well  known  to  require  argument. 

If  the  eggs  were  sold  for  just  what  they  are  it  probably  would  not  be 
so  bad,  but  in  addition  to  charging  the  exorbitant  profit  the  consuming 
public  are  led  to  believe  they  are  getting  real  fresh  eggs.  I  have  no 
hesitancy  in  saying  that  the  better  element  in  the  trade  will  sooner  or  later 
have  to  lend  a  hand  in  stamping  out  this  abuse.  Too  many  times  have 
we  seen  instances  where  wholesale  dealers  have  aided  and  abetted  in  this 
nefarious  traffic.  It  is  a  shameful  fact  that  certain  men  have  been  con- 
nected with  the  egg  trade  who,  in  common  with  other  human  jackals,  have 
resorted  to  all  kinds  of  devices  to  rob  consumers  and  even  to  impair  the 
digestion  of  the  public,  and  even  to  poison  people,  if  only  a  few  paltry 
dollars  were  in  sight. 

We  have  to  thank  these  two-legged  hyenas  for  a  great  deal  of  this 
insistent  public  agitation  of  late  years  for  crazy  laws  against  cold  storages. 
They  have  so  abused  every  principle  of  decent  business  as  to  outrage  the 
patience  of  the  average  man  and  woman  in  this  country,  and  to  cause  the 
people  to  try  to  get  back  at  them  for  the  harm  that  has  been  done.  Can 
the  public  be  blamed? 

Think  of  all  the  rotten  mess  that  has  been  fed  the  American  people  in 
the  way  of  bad  eggs.  Rotten  eggs  with  flies  in  the  cans  which  were  put  up 
for  bakers'  use  have  been  found  by  government  pure  food  agents  from 
time  to  time.  Some  of  these  eggs  which  are  broken  up  and  put  into  cans 
are  unfit  for  food,  while  it  cannot  be  denied  that  a  certain  percentage  of 
eggs  that  will  not  do  to  put  out  to  the  public  in  the  shell  are  good  enough 
to  be  used  by  bakers,  who  can  mix  them  with  other  ingredients  so  as  to 
cause  no  injurious  effects  to  those  who  eat  their  bread  and  cakes.  But 
I  want  to  emphasize  the  statement  that  eggs  which  are  actually  filthy  and 
rotten  have  no  place  in  a  baker's  shop,  or  any  place  else  where  human 
food  is  being  prepared  or  sold. 

If  necessary  to  break  up  this  kind  of  business  I  think  some  dealers 
who  make  a  practice  of  handling  rotten  eggs  should  be  sent  to  the  peni- 
tentiary, and  unless  I  read  the  signs  of  the  times  wrong  we  are  not  far 
from  having  such  action  taken  if  it  shall  become  necessary  to  put  a  stop 
to  this  nasty  traffic.  Personally  I  have  a  much  higher  regard  for  a  hold- 


> 


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5 1 

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EGGS  185 

up  man  than  for  the  despicable  rascal  that  cares  not  if  he  poisons  me  and 
others  to  get  our  money. 

At  the  same  time,  I  think  there  are  legitimate  limits  for  the  handling 
of  low  grade  eggs.  In  others  words,  an  egg  may  be  only  bad  in  part. 
Such  stock,  I  believe,  can  be  broken  up  and  have  the  bad  part  sep- 
arated from  the  good  so  that  it  may  be  used  for  some  purpose.  Those 
firms  who  make  a  business  of  handling  these  undergrade  eggs  should  be 
provided  with  an  official  inspector  at  their  places  of  business,  whose 
duty  it  should  be  to  see  that  only  the  parts  of  eggs  fit  for  human  food 
are  allowed  to  get  into  the  commercial  food  channels. 

It  may  be  perfectly  true,  as  some  people  claim,  that  undergrade  eggs 
have  their  uses  and  that  it  would  be  unjust  to  the  egg  trade  to  entirely 
outlaw  these  eggs  of  indifferent  quality.  There  is  no  question  but  for 
chemical  purposes,  and  for  tanning  leather,  glazing,  and  for  various  other 
uses,  these  undergrade  eggs  are  quite  desirable.  But  I  am  unalterably 
opposed  to  allowing  people  who  make  a  business  of  handling  them  to 
have  a  free  hand  for  breaking  up  and  canning  all  kinds  of  undergrade 
stock  merely  because  the  eggs  may  have  "some"  commercial  use.  I  think 
this  business  should  be  put  under  strict  government  supervision  similar 
to  the  packing  house  business,  and  I  would  like  very  much  to  see  the 
severest  penalty  the  law  can  impose  inflicted  upon  those  who  undertake 
to  violate  such  regulations  as  would  restrict  these  rotten  eggs  to  industrial 
purposes,  and  not  to  permit  them  in  any  sense  to  be  used  for  human 
food.  The  public  have  eaten  too  many  "spinkles" ;  they  will  not  tolerate 
them  much  longer. 

Perhaps  it  would  not  be  out  of  place  to  say  something  about  the  well 
developed  system  of  grading  eggs,  for  I  have  no  doubt  but  the  average 
reader  outside  of  the  trade  has  little  or  no  idea  what  is  meant  by  spots, 
checks,  dirties,  or  even  extras,  for  these  words  are  more  or  less  of  a 
technical  nature.  My  only  purpose  in  including  anything  on  this  subject 
here  is  to  give  the  reader  outside  of  the  trade  a  clearer  idea  of  the  sub- 
ject we  have  under  discussion,  for  it  has  been  my  experience  that  in  order 
to  draw  any  intelligent  conclusion  about  eggs  at  all  we  must  understand 
what  a  good  egg  is  if  we  expect  to  form  a  conclusion  as  to  what  is  meant 
by  a  bad  egg. 

Eggs  are  graded  by  candling.  As  the  name  implies,  candling  involves 
holding  an  egg  before  a  lighted  candle  or  some  other  good  light  to  deter- 
mine the  condition  of  the  egg  from  the  appearance  it  has  when  subjected  to 
the  light.  The  practiced  eye  can  detect  at  a  glance  just  what  may  be  the 
quality  of  a  given  egg  under  inspection. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  electric  or  incandescent  lights  are 


18C  PRODUCE   MARKETS   AND  MARKETING 

now  generally  used  instead  of  the  old  time  tallow  candle,  because  the 
electric  light  is  more  powerful,  and  quite  naturally,  the  stronger  the  light 
the  better.  Perhaps  the  best  candling  device  is  a  small  tin  box  with  a 
dark  background  in  which  an  electric  bulb  is  fixed ;  in  one  side  is  an  open- 
ing about  the  size  of  an  egg  so  that  the  candler  can  hold  the  egg  near 
the  hole  where  he  can  see  quickly  and  readily  determine  the  soundness, 
fullness  and  freshness  of  an  egg.  Those  who  have  taken  the  time  to  do 
a  little  candling  know  that  with  the  proper  apparatus,  a  steady  hand 
and  fairly  good  eyesight  are  about  all  required  to  arrive  at  a  correct  idea 
of  what  a  given  egg  sample  shows  for  a  whole  case  or  car  lot. 

A  strictly  fresh  egg  from  a  healthy  chicken  hen  exhibits  a  rosy  look, 
which,  taken  with  the  full  effect  of  the  white,  shows  the  stock  is  fresh. 
When  there  is  found  a  shrunken  effect,  or  the  yolk  is  on  one  side,  there 
can  be  little  doubt  but  the  egg  has  been  laid  for  some  time,  and  cannot  be 
graded  as  fresh.  An  enlarged  air  space  at  the  end  of  the  egg  is  one  of 
the  surest  indications  that  it  has  been  laid  for  some  time,  as  this  air  space 
becomes  larger  as  the  liquid  matter  of  the  egg  gradually  evaporates  after 
the  egg  is  laid.  And  where  an  egg  is  found  with  "blood  rings,"  due  to 
germination  having  set  in  in  warm  weather  it  is  a  safe  bet  that  the  egg 
has  been  laid  for  some  time,  except  when  these  "blood  rings"  are  found 
in  the  eggs  of  young  pullets  early  in  the  spring,  probably  due  to  physio- 
logical causes. 

Grades,  therefore,  depend  first  upon  quality  as  to  freshness  and  size. 
Sometimes  color  enters  into  the  classification  for  certain  markets  or  for 
special  requirements. 

In  most  markets  extras  or  specials  are  of  the  very  best  quality,  and 
are  relatively  perfect  from  a  commercial  standpoint.  In  order  to  reach 
this  higher  grade  an  egg  must  be  full,  sound,  sweet  and  uniform  in  size, 
and  the  cases  must  not  show  a  greater  loss  than  10  to  20  per  cent  of 
poor  eggs  during  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  the  heavier  loss  being  al- 
lowed during  the  warm  weather. 

The  next  grades  are  generally  listed  as  prime  firsts,  firsts,  ordinary 
firsts,  etc.,  which  permit  losses  from  15  to  35  per  cent,  for  prime  firsts, 
from  30  to  55  per  cent  for  firsts,  and  40  to  70  per  cent  loss  on  ordinary 
firsts  during  the  different  seasons  of  egg  production.  These  losses,  of 
course,  imply  losses  from  candling  and  do  not  necessarily  mean  eggs 
unfit  for  food,  because  the  matter  of  size  enters  into  the  candler's  grad- 
ing, and  also  the  eggs  which  may  be  stained  or  have  dirt  on  the  outside, 
may  fail  to  "pass,"  though  they  may  be  perfectly  good  inside. 

The  term  "storage  packed"  applies  on  about  the  same  basis  of  quality  as 
for  other  grades  just  cited,  except  a  different  style  of  packing  is  used  in 


EGGS  187 

order  to  protect  the  eggs  during  the  long  period  they  are  to  be  kept  in 
storage,  and  also  for  insuring  safe  handling  and  shipping  after  they  are 
taken  out.  After  an  egg  has  been  stored  it  is  known  to  the  trade  as  a 
"refrigerator"  egg  when  it  is  taken  out  and  offered  for  sale. 

Current  receipts  are  eggs  as  they  come  from  the  country  and  may  be 
strictly  fresh,  or  they  may  show  a  heavy  percentage  of  inferior  quality,, 
due  to  the  length  of  time  held  by  the  farmer's  wife  or  by  the  country 
merchant  before  being  sent  to  market.  Of  course,  the  trade  understands 
in  a  general  way  what  may  be  expected  when  it  is  known  from  what  state 
or  section  current  receipts  are  coming  at  different  seasons,  but  at  best, 
the  term  current  receipts  is  like  charity,  as  both  may  be  truthfully  said 
to  cover  a  multitude  of  sins.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  eggs  coming  in  mis- 
cellaneous lots  need  candling  and  grading  so  as  to  separate  the  good, 
bad  and  indifferent. 

Low  grade  eggs  are  known  as  rots,  spots,  checks  and  dirties,  though 
the  last  named  may  be  perfectly  good  to  eat,  but  off  grade  for  having 
dirty  or  soiled  shells. 

It  is  quite  true  that  the  services  of  expert  egg  candlers  in  the  larger 
markets  could  be  dispensed  with  in  a  large  measure,  and  much  money 
could  be  saved  if  eggs  were  always  shipped  to  market  while  they  are 
fresh.  Holding  eggs  at  initial  points  until  they  lose  a  good  share  of  their 
freshness  is  an  old  trouble  for  which  a  remedy  is  badly  needed.  During 
the  last  few  years  a  great  deal  of  serious  thinking  has  been  done  to  try 
to  prevent  the  heavy  losses  which  take  place  by  failure  to  market  their 
are  produced  and  the  time  they  reach  the  consumer,  frequently  amount- 
ing to  as  much  as  two  or  three  weeks  or  more. 

Lately  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  has  taken  com- 
mendable steps  in  trying  to  educate  farmers  and  farmers'  wives  how  best 
to  prevent  the  heavy  losses  which  take  place  by  failure  to  market  their 
eggs  every  day  or  two,  instead  of  once  or  twice  in  as  long  as  a  fortnight, 
heretofore  the  favorite  method  in  some  sections.  Already  considerable 
progress  has  been  made  in  this  respect  and  there  are  many  people  in  the 
trade  who  have  to  thank  the  government  for  the  good  work  which  has 
been  done.  A  very  simple,  practical  set  of  rules  has  been  worked  out 
for  the  marketing  of  eggs  from  the  farm,  and  if  these  rules  were  only 
taken  seriously  by  the  farmers  it  would  save  a  great  deal  of  trouble  which 
the  trade  has  had  to  contend  with  in  the  past.  The  gist  of  these  rules  is 
to  use  cleanliness  in  collecting  and  handling  the  eggs,  and  to  send  them  to 
market  as  soon  as  possible. 

Heretofore,  country  merchants  have  been  largely  responsible  for  the 
trouble  with  bad  eggs,  as  it  often  happens  where  they  take  eggs  in  from 


188  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

farmers  they  put  them  away  in  a  heated  room  where  they  are  side  by  side 
with  various  other  articles  such  as  kerosene,  bacon,  etc.,  and  in  many 
cases  under  a  temperature  that  actually  starts  germination  in  the  eggs. 
I  hesitate  to  say  it  but  I  hardly  think  the  average  country  merchant  has 
any  business  dabbling  with  eggs  at  all,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
so  many  of  them  exhibit  little  or  no  interest  in  hastening  the  eggs  on 
to  markets  where  they  are  to  be  consumed. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  many  of  these  merchants  have  been  imposed 
upon  by  farmers  who  bring  the  eggs  in  and  trade  them  for  calico,  tobacco 
and  other  merchandise  found  in  a  country  or  village  store.  In  some  cases 
the  merchants  have  stated  in  so  many  words  that  they  were  afraid  to  ques- 
tion the  farmers  regarding  the  freshness  of  the  eggs,  as  they  would  likely 
go  some  place  else  to  trade. 

Complaints  have  been  made  that  farmers  have  often  taken  eggs  which 
had  been  put  through  the  incubator  and  have  refused  to  hatch,  and  have 
actually  sold  them  to  country  merchants  and  to  others  who  were  credu- 
lous enough  to  believe  everything  that  an  "honest  farmer"  might  say.  I 
am  not  prepared  to  say  how  widespread  this  despicable  practice  has  been, 
but  there  is  no  doubt  such  traffic  has  been  the  means  of  causing  health 
officials  to  contend  for  the  passage  of  certain  laws  which  would  make  it 
criminal  to  sell  eggs  of  this  kind  for  human  food.  I  may  say  that  I  be- 
lieve thoroughly  in  the  passage  and  enforcement  of  such  regulations. 

The  crooked  farmer  who  would  sell  old  incubator  eggs  to  the  country 
merchant,  and  take  his  good  money  or  merchandise  for  them,,  is  just  as  big 
a  crook  and  is  just  as  great  an  enemy  to  the  public  as  the  wholesale  dealer 
who  makes  it  a  business  to  break  up  and  can  rotten  eggs  with  the  expecta- 
tion of  selling  them  to  someone,  who  in  turn  is  'to  use  them  in  preparing 
human  food.  I  only  wish  that  the  whole  crew  involved  in  such  business 
could  be  taken  up  and  put  into  the  penitentiary  or  swung  from  a  gibbet, 
for  I  think  every  fair-minded  man  will  agree  with  me  that  they  are  such 
a  menace  to  the  health  of  our  people  as  to  be  considered  a  public  enemy. 
I  could  hardly  conceive  worse  criminals. 

If  all  eggs  were  handled  quickly  and  pushed  along  to  the  consuming 
public  they  would  not  only  bring  more  money,  but  it  is  the  opinion  of  many 
well-known  dealers  that  more  eggs  would  be  used  by  the  public.  In  cer- 
tain localities  egg  buyers  have  found  it  profitable  to  send  out  wagons 
on  regular  routes  every  day  or  every  other  day  to  purchase  eggs  directly 
from  the  farmer,  and  follow  a  plan  to  pay  them  exactly  what  the  eggs 
are  worth  at  the  time  they  are  taken  on  the  wagon.  This  is  a  very  com- 
mendable idea  and  should  be  extended  wherever  it  is  possible  to  put  it 
into  operation. 


EGGS  189 

Another  excellent  practice  which  is  coming  more  and  more  into  vogue 
is  the  plan  of  buying  eggs  on  a  basis  of  actual  weight.  It  is  easy  to  see 
that  a  class  of  eggs  which  weigh  as  much  as  60  pounds  to  the  case  is  worth 
much  more  than  another  class  which  runs  45  to  50  pounds.  The  popu- 
larity of  certain  breeds  of  small  hens  because  they  lay  more  eggs  is  giv- 
ing rise  to  a  lot  of  trouble  among  dealers  who  have  been  accustomed  to 
buy  eggs  on  a  case  basis  heretofore. 

Every  egg  man,  and  every  consumer  for  that  matter,  knows  that  a  large 
egg,  such  as  is  produced  by  the  Plymouth  Rock  hen,  is  worth  a  great  deal 
more  than  the  small  egg  which  is  produced  by  the  Leghorns  and  other 
kinds  of  hens  which  lay  a  small  egg. 

Wherever  eggs  cannot  be  collected  at  regular  intervals  it  is  no  doubt 
a  good  method  to  buy  on  a  loss-off  basis,  for  this  system  has  gone  a  long 
way  towards  settling  the  matter  of  quality,  and  also  solving  the  second- 
hand case  problem. 

The  loss-off  plan  amounts  to  just  what  the  name  implies,  for  the  eggs 
are  candled  and  the  country  merchant  or  the  farmer  is  paid  for  just  what 
the  eggs  grade  as  to  quality.  Recent  legislation  in  a  number  of  our  states 
has  made  this  system  much  easier  than  heretofore  because  all  competitors 
are  put  on  the  same. basis,  and  the  farmer  does  not  enjoy  any  greater  bene- 
fit by  selling  to  one  than  to  another.  It  is  simply  another  case  where  pub- 
lic sentiment  is  asserting  itself  against  rotten  eggs,  and  no  one  is  more 
pleased  to  see  the  laws  being  put  into  effect  than  the  writer.  The  best 
way  to  effectually  settle  the  bad  egg  problem  is  to  prevent  their  getting 
into  the  channels  of  trade. 

Country  merchants  who  frequently  persist  in  using  any  old  rattle-trap 
of  a  box  to  hold  eggs,  simply  because  they  figured  it  was  the  cheapest 
way,  found  that  the  cheap  cases  are  the  most  dear  after  all.  It  took 
losses  on  top  of  losses  to  prove  this,  however,  and  many  shippers  were 
literally  forced  to  adopt  the  loss-off  system  because  of  the  breakage  in 
transit  when  the  eggs  were  shipped  into  concentrating  points  or  into  the 
markets  in  these  old  cases.  I  am  not  interested  in  egg  cases  in  any  way, 
but  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  unless  these  second-hand  cases  are  rein- 
forced with  iron  straps  which  enables  them  to  stand  up  in  transit,  and 
which  entitles  them  to  the  same  freight  rate  as  new  cases,  they  should  be 
ruled  out  altogether,  as  they  are  worse  than  useless  for  all  practical 
purposes. 

While  we  have  the  subject  of  egg  cases  in  mind  I  want  to  say  that  it 
has  always  been  a  puzzle  to  me  why  the  regulation  thirty  dozen  case, 
built  along  the  lines  on  which  it  is  constructed,  wras  ever  adopted  as  the 
standard  package  in  this  country.  I  have  no  hesitancy  in  saying  that  I 


190       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

think  it  would  have  been  hard  to  select  a  worse  package.  In  the  first 
place,  it  is  itself  constructed  in  a  flimsy  way,  yet  it  is  intended  to 
protect  a  very  fragile  commodity. 

Again,  why  should  thirty  dozen  be  selected  as  the  number  to  include 
in  a  case  ?  It  seems  to  me  that  twenty  would  have  been  a  much  better  unit 
to  have  worked  on,  because,  in  the  first  place,  it  would  result  in  a  smaller 
bulk  in  such  a  fragile  package.  Of  course,  I  am  aware  of  the  fact  that  it 
would  take  concerted  action  among  the  trade  all  over  the  country  ever  to 
make  any  change  from  the  regulation  white  wood  case  holding  thirty  dozen 
eggs,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  unless  some  plan  is  devised  to  make  a  better 
case  we  shall  have  to  expect  some  changes  sooner  or  later. 

I  am  firmly  convinced  that  the  day  will  yet  come  when  the  trade  will 
use  some  kind  of  metal  case  which  can  be  knocked  down  or  folded,  one  that 
can  also  be  sterilized  from  time  to  time  which  will  make  it  absolutely 
clean  and  as  good  as  a  new  case  in  every  respect.  While  a  case  of  this 
kind  might  cost  more  than  the  cases  now  used,  I  believe  in  the  end  they 
would  be  found  much  cheaper  than  the  white  wood  case  which  is  now 
taken  and  made  to  do  duty  on  one  trip  to  market  and  then  is  usually 
thrown  away.  No  one  who  is  at  all  familiar  with  the  subject  can  deny 
that  there  is  now  an  enormous  waste  in  egg  cases,  it  being  estimated  that 
something  like  20,000,000  are  turned  out  annually  which  are  practically 
all  thrown  away  after  they  have  made  their  one  trip  to  market. 

In  carrying  out  the  idea  of  a  correct  package  I  want  to  say  that  the  use 
of  No.  2  fillers  which  gave  so  much  trouble  to  many  people  in  the  trade 
a  few  years  ago,  and  which  are  even  now  used  to  too  great  an  extent,  were 
no  doubt  conceived  along  with  the  rattle-trap  box  used  as  a  cheap  pack- 
age for  shipping  eggs.  Only  fillers  made  of  stout  cardboard  should  be 
used  in  packing  eggs  for  shipping  or  for  storing.  Poor  fillers  are  dear 
at  any  price,  and  their  use  should  be  discouraged.  There  are  new-fangled 
ideas  in  fillers  just  as  there  are  in  cases,  but  the  old-fashioned  filler  con- 
sisting of  cross-sections  of  good  cardboard  joined  so  as  to  make  a  square 
hole  in  which  the  egg  rests,  with  a  square  sheet  of  cardboard  at  the  top 
and  bottom  of  each  layer  of  eggs,  and  then  a  liberal  supply  of  excelsior 
or  shavings  between  the  top  and  bottom  layers  of  eggs  and  the  top  and 
bottom  of  the  case,  make  a  very  desirable  package  so  far  as  the  inside 
packing  is  concerned. 

And  while  we  are  talking  about  packages  it  may  not  be  out  of  place 
to  say  a  word  or  two  about  the  cartons  holding  one  dozen  eggs,  which 
are  now  becoming  so  popular  among  retailers  and  even  among  jobbers 
who  put  up  eggs  in  these  cartons  with  their  own  brand  printed  thereon. 
This  is  a  splendid  idea,  and  is  one  which  really  enables  a  dealer  to  work 


EGGS  191 

up  an  asset  in  a  good  brand  of  eggs.  The  mistake  should  not  be  made, 
however,  in  thinking  that  an  attractive  carton  with  a  good  sounding  name 
will  take  the  place  of  quality  inside  the  eggs  inside  the  carton.  The  brand 
is  good  to  proclaim  quality ;  otherwise  it  is  useless. 

I  had  almost  forgotten  to  say  anything  regarding  the  process  of 
desiccating  eggs,  which  as  the  term  indicates,  means  a  drying-out  of  the 
liquid  in  eggs  and  making  the  residue  susceptible  of  being  rendered  into  a 
powder,  which  is  usually  canned  or  put  up  in  cartons  and  stored  away 
under  proper  conditions  to  be  saved  for  future  use. 

Too  frequently  spots  and  undergrade  eggs  have  gone  for  desiccating 
purposes,  and  no  doubt  if  only  good  eggs  had  been  employed  for  desiccat- 
ing, a  much  larger  demand  would  have  been  created  for  this  product  long 
ago,  as  it  fills  a  need  that  is  hard  to  satisfy  with  any  other  substitute. 

Desiccated  eggs  have  been  used  extensively  among  bakers  and  others 
who  find  it  necessary  to  get  a  quick  mixture.  To  these  powdered  eggs 
a  little  warm  water  is  added  and  after  stirring  for  a  few  moments  the 
egg  matter  is  reproduced  in  about  the  same  consistency  as  scrambled  eggs 
would  be  before  being  dried  out. 

Quite  a  business  has  been  worked  up  in  desiccated  egg  products  for 
export,  and  since  the  dry  powder  is  especially  desirable  for  use  in  domes- 
tic mining  and  lumber  camps  where  a  small  tin  may  be  carried  or  kept, 
but  where  eggs  in  the  shell  are  out  of  the  question,  and  for  military  pur- 
poses, the  advantage  of  the  powdered  form  is  quite  manifest,  as  a  tin 
can  be  taken  on  the  prospecting  trip  or  march  and  scrambled  eggs  and 
coffee  may  be  had  on  a  few  moments'  notice.  If  desiccated  eggs  had 
only  a  better  reputation  they  would  doubtless  be  used  more  extensively  by 
our  people. 

A  EULOGY  ON  THE  AMERICAN  HEN 

And  now  as  a  final  word  about  eggs  permit  me  to  say  I  should  feel 
myself  an  apostle  of  ingratitude,  and  a  destroyer  of  some  of  the  sweetest 
sentiments  in  life,  were  I  to  close  my  remarks  upon  this  subject  without 
some  slight  tribute  to  the  great  American  hen,  for  she  is  the  source  of  all 
our  stupendous  traffic  in  eggs.  It  is  she  that  causes  the  industry  to  sur- 
vive from  season  to  season,  it  is  she  that  produces  all  the  profits,  it  is  she 
that  yields  up  her  finer  sensibilities  to  the  sinister  commercial  .spirit  of 
the  times. 

Yet  we  seem  to  begrudge  her  the  stinted  praise  she  may  receive  for  her 
industry  and  the  faithful  performance  of  her  duty  day  after  day,  season 
after  season.  What  a  stupenduous  task  is  hers !  Of  the  vast  labor  and 
immense  outlay  of  money  the  proceedings  involve  with  respect  tc  her  ag- 
gregate product  we  little  dream. 


192  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

If  I  had  the  poetic  gift  of  a  Homer  or  a  Milton  and  could  feast  upon 
an  egg  diet  for  a  fortnight  I  would  then  try  my  hand  at  a  grand  epic  that 
might  in  some  small  degree  pay  a  fitting  tribute  to  that  marvelous  fowl., — 
the  common  chicken  hen. 

Behold  this  humble  feathered  creature  that  was  cheated  in  the  beginning 
by  nature  when  gaudy  feathered  dresses,  pretty  rose  combs  and  other 
things  which  delight  the  feminine  heart  were  being  distributed  among 
the  haughty  roosters,  and  who  was  deprived  even  of  the  spurs  she  so 
badly  needs  to  defend  herself  and  her  brood.  Instead  of  having  con- 
ferred upon  her  the  ability  to  crow  when  she  had  done  something  worth 
crowing  over,  as  happens  nearly  every  day,  she  must  content  herself  with 
a  cackle,  and  if  perchance  she  essays  to  learn  to  crow  she  is  likely  to  get 
her  neck  wrung,  for  all  animated  creation  seems  to  abhor  a  crowing  hen 
and  a  whistling  woman. 

Observe  the  lowly  tread  of  the  hen  in  the  millions  of  barnyards  from 
Maine  to  Mexico!  See  her  as  she  evades  the  enforced  attentions  of 
Sir  Chanticleer  at  every  turn.  Whether  she  tries  to  catch  a  grasshopper 
or  pauses  to  dip  her  parched  bill  in  a  chicken  trough,  her  over-lord  is  by 
her  side  vowing  his  undying  affection,  and  at  the  same  time  blinking  his 
other  eye  at  a  dozen  affinities  in  the  barnyard.  How  seriously  she  goes 
about  her  affairs,  and  yet  how  guilty  of  intrigue  and  deceptive  show  is 
this  rascally  cock  with  his  flowing  tail  feathers  and  his  deep-laid  plans  to 
distract  the  hen  and  drive  her  mad. 

I  maintain  that  her  career  is  strenuous  and  her  friends  are  few.  Though 
worthy  of  the  highest  encomiums  man  can  utter  there  has  been  no  suitable 
appreciation  of  her  worth  set  down  in  all  the  realm  of  story  and  song. 
I  am  fully  convinced  that  our  Revolutionary  sires  who  crossed  swords 
with  the  redcoats  and  demonstrated  their  superior  fighting  ability,  after- 
wards made  a  serious  blunder  when  they  selected  the  eagle,  instead  of  the 
common  chicken  hen,  as  the  bird  representing  the  spirit  of  this  stalwart 
nation. 

Why? 

The  reason  is  perfectly  simple.  In  the  first  place,  the  hen  is  a  peace- 
ful, industrious  citizen,  always  willing  to  scratch  for  her  living;  there  is 
no  clinging  vine  in  her  make-up,  for  she  exhibits  a  desire  that  is  almost  a 
passion  to  be  self-supporting,  and  possessing  withal  the  happy  knack  of 
minding  her  own  business, — qualities  that  constitute  the  bed  rock  of  na- 
tional prosperity,  and  make  for  the  solidarity  of  our  great  country. 
Pause  and  reflect  for  a  moment  what  great  aid  she  has  rendered  in.  the 
upbuilding  of  this  grand  republic.  She  has  been  a  patron  of  the  arts  and 
sciences.,  for  she  rendered  invaluable  service  in  raising  the  standard  among 


EGGS  193 

stump  speakers  and  "ham"  actors  when  she  gave  us  the  "cowardly"  egg 
that  hits  and  runs,  and  which  is  so  much  dreaded  by  barn  stormers  and 
political  spellbinders. 

Yet  my  good  hen  delights  in  being  a  common  citizen ;  she  seeks  no  trap- 
pings of  state  nor  outward  show  of  wealth.  Although  she  can  convert  her- 
self into  a  flying-machine  at  wrill,  she  is  content  to  rest  on  terra  firma,  and 
rarely  gets  "up  in  the  air"  unless  found  trespassing  in  a  neighbor's  gar- 
den, as  some  hens  will  do  if  the  bugs  and  worms  seem  to  challenge  her 
to  go  over  a  board  fence  across  the  way,  for  good  hens,  like  good  house- 
wives, show  little  regard  for  board  fences,  if  only  a  fat  worm  for  the  one, 
or  a  bit  of  gossip  for  the  other,  are  to  be  had  merely  for  the  crossing  over ; 
and  be  it  known,  both  hens  and  housewives  frequently  get  into  trouble 
over  a  line  fence. 

But  to  go  back  to  the  hen  and  the  eagle :  In  the  hen  we  have  a  domes- 
tic bird,  one  that  yields  great  revenue  and  produces  a  large  share  of  our 
food  products.  I  can  easily  see  why  the  Hindoo  worships  the  ox,  why 
the  devout  Moslem  turns  to  Mecca  for  solemn  prayer,  and  why  the  al- 
mond-eyed celestial  holds  in  reverent  memory  the  departed  spirits  of  his 
ancestors.  But  it  surpasses  my  untutored  comprehension  why  the  eagle, 
that  awful  destructive  bird  of  prey,  repulsive  in  every  sense  of  the  word, 
was  chosen  to  go  on  our  coat  of  arms,  on  our  coins, — with  that  cruel  beak 
and  outstretched  wings  emblazoned  upon  our  escutcheon  calling  for 
homage  from  our  children's  children, — when  it  is  so  clear  that  the  great 
American  hen  is  entitled  to  that  honor  by  every  rule  of  law  and  reason. 

Is  it  cause  for  wonder  that  I  take  the  position  I  do?  Let  him  who 
doubts  my  sincerity  as  to  the  superior  claims  of  the  hen  for  the  honors 
thrust  upon  the  eagle,  betake  himself  to  a  barnyard  and  assume  the  scien- 
tific attitude  which  aims  to  arrive  at  conclusions  solely  from  the  evidence 
at  hand. 

Let  him  observe  the  hen,  if  you  please,  in  her  natural  habitat  where  she 
is  forced  to  dodge  frequently  the  sticks  and  stones  shied  at  her  by  the 
small  boy  across  the  way,  and  under  this  nerve-racking  strain  where  she 
is  in  positive  and  serious  danger  from  a  dozen  other  common  enemies, 
such  as  foxes,  hawks,  snakes,  prowling  dogs  and  cats,  as  well  as  two- 
legged  sneak  thieves,  let  him  observe  all  this  I  say,  and  see  with  what 
Spartan  fidelity  my  good  hen  sticks  to  her  task,  and  follows  her  schedule 
of  an  egg  a  day  as  long  as  she  can,  or  until  her  marvelous  maternal  in- 
stinct overcomes  her  assiduity  to  lay  eggs. 

The  hen  is  altogether  a  rational  cre.-iture, — she  reasons  from  cause  to 
effect.  Of  this  there  is  no  doubt,  for  there  is  method  in  her  every  move- 
ment. An  old  friend  in  a  Western  state  was  telling  me  once  of  the  ways 


194  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

of  a  hen  and  among  other  ungrateful  things  said:  "When  one  of  my  hens 
takes  a  notion  to  set.,  all  h — 1  can't  stop  her."  The  sneering  emphasis  of 
his  speech  betrayed  him  as  a  man  with  a  bad  heart,  and  doubtless  a  flock 
of  good  hens,  for,  however  this  predilection  may  seem  to  others,  I  find 
cause  for  praising  the  hen  on  account  of  her  unswerving  purpose  in  this 
important  matter. 

Instead  of  heaping  censure  on  her  poor  head  for  tackling  a  glass  or 
porcelain  nest  egg  and  trying  ambitiously  as  long  as  five  or  six  weeks  to 
hatch  it,  and  sticks  to  the  job  even  after  she  finds  she  has  been  grossly 
deceived,  I  think  we  should  refer  to  her  efforts  as  a  faithful  performance 
of  duty  which  cannot  be  matched  in  all  creation.  I  only  wish  that  from 
such  examples  we  could  take  the  lesson  home  to  ourselves,  and  display  the 
same  dogged  determination  in  whatever  we  aim  to  accomplish  in  life. 
Thou  sluggard,  go  no  more  to  the  ant,  but  to  the  hen  for  inspiration  that 
means  success. 

O,  that  I  were  capable  of  expressing  a  proper  eulogy  on  the  great 
American  hen !  There  is  so  much  to  commend  and  really  so  little  to  con- 
demn in  her  deportment  I  fear  we  are  not  duly  appreciative  of  her  ser- 
vices. She  is  so  sincere,  so  simple,  so  satisfied. 

As  a  musician  she  is  not  to  be  sneezed  at,  for  whether  it  be  the  simple 
"cluck-cluck"  as  she  leads  her  brood  after  stray  bugs  or  angle  worms,  or 
whether  it  be  the  resounding  "c-o-c-k,  c-o-c-k,  cock-cock"  which  she  al- 
ways delivers  for  some  minutes  after  depositing  a  newly  laid  egg,  there 
is  melody  in  her  voice  for  there  is  joy  in  her  heart  always.  Her  song  is 
the  simple  outpouring  of  a  soul  that  is  filled  with  music,  and  it  is  a  serious 
criticism  on  the  race  of  poets  that  they  have  sung  of  milkmaids  tripping 
down  the  shady  lane,  and  rarely  have  they  even  referred  to  the  hen  and 
her  plaintive  lay.  But  she  shall  have  her  Boswell  at  last.  O,  that  I  were 
pious  enough  to  become  her  patron  saint! 

I  like  the  hen  because  she  is  a  good  advertiser;  she  always  calls  at- 
tention to  her  operations,  and  she  takes  pardonable  pride  in  her  ability 
to  lay  good  eggs.  She  is  a  great  advocate  of  the  sealed  package,  and  an 
avowed  apostle  of  the  pure  food  doctrine,  for  her  goods  are  always  put 
out  to  the  public  with  a  view  to  making  a  reputation  on  merit.  She  is 
blissfully  ignorant  that  any  of  her  eggs  ever  prove  unsatisfactory  or 
give  the  least  offense.  She  is  the  embodiment  of  lofty  aspirations,  the 
very  incarnation  of  high  ideals,  while  self  sacrifice  is  the  keystone  in  her 
scheme  of  philosophy.  She  is  an  artisan  par  excellence,  a  sworn  enemy 
of  race  suicide,  an  indefatigable  worker,  an  optimist  for  her  constant 
song,  a  patriot  by  nature  and  a  saint  by  rights,  for  who  is  so  bold  as  to 
cast  aspersions  upon  her  fair  name  ?  Who  would  impute  to  her  a  sinister 
motive  for  her  noble  work? 


EGQS  195 

And  yet,  instead  of  having  a  casket  of  gold  or  a  costly  mausoleum  when 
she  reaches  her  three  score  years  and  ten  of  chicken  life,  she  is  most  likely 
hustled  into  a  stuffy  coop  with  a  nondescript  aggregation  of  other  fowls 
and  sent  away  to  a  distant  market,  where  her  carcass,  if  tough  and  elastic 
by  reason  of  great  age  and  prolonged  exercise,  is  promptly  dispatched  to 
some  hash  foundry  or  boarding  house  where  it  is  labeled  with  the  euphoni- 
ous appellation,  "spring  chicken,"  thus  foisting  a  libel  on  her  and  her  kind 
to  go  down  in  history;  whereas,  her  epitaph  should  be  written  in  liquid 
words  of  truth,  and  not  in  the  profane  doggerel  of  a  resentful  boarding 
house  poet  whose  digestion  is  always  bad. 

I  submit  that  an  aroused  public  sentiment  will  spring  up  some  day 
which  will  crush  down  this  cruel  course  of  tyranny  and  oppression  to  which 
my  friend,  the  hen  has  been  subjected  for  lo,  these  many  years. 

As  a  reward  for  her  ingenuity  in  solving  successfully  the  grave  problems 
with  which  she  is  confronted,  and  for  the  faithful  services  she  so  cheer- 
fully renders,  we  merely  feed  her  crumbs;  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  her 
sacred  memory  we  sleep  on  her  feathers.  We  even  rob  her  nest  before 
her  eggs  are  cold.  We  unceremoniously  snatch  away  her  baby  chicks 
while  they  yet  seek  the  shelter  of  her  brooding  wings,  and  send  them 
away  to  the  market  places  to  be  sold  as  "peepers"  because  they  peep. 

And  to  cap  the  climax  of  this  infamous  treatment  she  receives,  I  am 
informed  that  her  owners  all  over  the  land  are  robbing  her  of  the  chief 
aim  and  highest  pleasure  of  her  life  by  making  general  a  process  of  put- 
ting her  eggs  into  an  oil-heated  incubator  of  foul  smell,  and  trying  to 
develop  a  mechanical  chick  without  regard  for  the  numerous  desirable 
maternal  qualities  which  she  might  reasonably  be  expected  to  transmit  to 
her  brood  were  nature  left  to  take  its  course,  and  she  could  embrace  the 
coveted  opportunity  of  making  her  nest  where  she  chooses  and  hatching 
her  eggs  as  she  pleases. 

It  is  an  outrage,  I  submit,  to  cause  a  helpless  creature  like  the  hen  to 
forego  such  a  great  function  in  life.  By  what  right  is  she  deprived  of 
this  duty?  When,  oh  when,  will  this  inquisition  end?  Is  no  strong 
arm  left  to  challenge  the  cause  of  the  weak  and  the  oppressed?  Are 
we  to  become  a  race  of  degenerates? 

Our  people  should  awaken  to  the  true  state  of  facts  as  they  apply  to  this 
down-trodden  fowl.  A  large  fund  should  be  created  by  popular  subscrip- 
tion to  build  a  towering  monument  to  the  memory  of  the  hen.  It  should 
be  a  splendid  shaft,  grander  than  any  sculptured  obelisk  of  storied  Egypt 
or  gloriously  triumphant  pillar  of  classic  Rome,  and  deep  cut  in  whose 
shining  marble  sides  words  of  affection  should  glisten  and  show  that  her 
rights  and  her  worth  had  been  recognized  at  last  by  fhe  humblest  and 


196  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

the  highest  in  the  land.  Such  action  might  atone  in  a  small  way  for  the 
immeasurable  wrongs  she  has  suffered  in  the  past,  and  would  doubtless 
secure  her  against  their  repetition  in  the  future. 

May  a  generation  of  men  be  raised  up  yet  who  will  honor  themselves 
by  honoring  the  hen !  When  her  harmless  fuss  and  feathers  shall  have 
supplanted  the  piercing  scream  of  the  awful  eagle,  then  and  not  until 
then,  can  we  say  with  joy  "the  dawn  of  universal  peace  and  prosperity 
has  come!" 

May  the  Lord  bless  the  Great  American  Hen;  may  her  fame  never  die 
and  her  son  never  set ! 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

POULTRY 

Commercial  poultry  is  a  subject  so  broad  and  so  easily  divided  into 
specialties  that  a  respectable  size  treatise  easily  could  be  devoted  to  the 
subject  if  a  careful  analysis  of  the  various  phases  of  this  branch  of  prod- 
uce were  to  be  given  anything  like  exhaustive  treatment. 

Even  in  a  casual  survey  of  the  subject  we  are  quickly  impressed  with 
the  fact  that  the  commercial  poultry  deal  is  one  that  never  ends.  It  is 
a  ceaseless  round  from  day  to  day  and  year  to  year,  although  there  are 
occasions  when  the  market  undergoes  peculiar  changes,  due  to  a  variety 
of  causes  as  we  shall  see  presently. 

To  some  people  engaged  in  handling  poultry  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the 
tide  during  the  big  holidays  are  mere  incidents,  but  the  rank  and  file  of 
the  trade  know  that  Thanksgiving,  Christmas  and  the  several  Jewish 
holidays  are  to  the  trade  what  Derby  day  is  to  the  races  or  the  Fourth 
of  July  is  to  those  who  deal  in  flags  and  fireworks. 

However,  the  special  holidays  are  but  a  drop  in  the  bucket  compared 
with  the  trading  day  after  day  when  the  demand  is  necessarily  smaller 
than  during  the  holidays,  but  in  the  aggregate  makes  the  business  of  com- 
mercial poultry,  perhaps,  second  in  volume  and  value  to  no  other  branch 
of  the  meat  supply  of  the  nation. 

The  author  would  be  delighted  to  submit  some  figures  on  the  value  of 
the  poultry  produced  and  consumed  in  this  country  during  a  twelve 
month,  but  there  are  no  statistics  worthy  of  the  name.  The  subject  is  so 
large  and  the  industry  so  widespread  that  even  Uncle  Sam  seems  loath  to 
do  more  than  to  take  a  chance  shot  at  a  guess  as  to  the  number  of  laying 
hens  once  every  ten  years.  In  the  preceding  chapter  on  eggs  we  observed 
that  their  production  extended  from  Maine  to  Mexico,  and  it  is  quite  clear 
that  poultry  and  eggs  are  as  intimately  related  as  cause  and  effect.  In- 
deed, the  hens  are  the  cause  and  eggs  are  the  effects  produced,  for  we 
must  always  bear  in  mind  that  the  egg  presupposes  the  hen  that  produces 

197 


198  PRODUCE  MARKETS   AND  MARKETING 

it.  And  it  is  worthy  of  notice  that  about  as  many  different  kinds  of  peo- 
ple are  identified  with  the  poultry  business  as  are  engaged  in  the  han- 
dling of  eggs. 

All  poultry  is  handled  either  live  or  dressed,  the  latter  being  shipped 
sometimes  with  ice  and  sometimes  without  it,  owing  to  the  length  of  dis- 
tance to  be  shipped  and  the  condition  of  the  weather. 

Live  poultry  in  small  lots  is  shipped  in  coops  of  various  patterns,  sizes 
and  shapes,  ranging  all  the  way  from  the  oblong  slat  coop,  'like  mother 
used  to  make,"  to  the  new  fangled  ideas  which  are  built  with  wire  screens 
for  the  sides  and  top,  and  some  of  which  are  so  flimsy  as  to  make  them 
crush  like  egg  shells  when  stacked  up  one  on  another,  thus  making  them 
very  costly  in  the  long  run  because  of  the  fowls  killed,  unless  great  care 
is  used  in  handling  this  kind  of  coop.  Then,  there  is  the  patented  knock- 
down coop  that  changes  itself  automatically  and  keeps  a  fowl  guessing 
if  it  is  on  the  outside  or  on  the  inside.  Some  of  these  new  collapsible 
coops  seem  to  have  points  in  their  favor,  but  it  is  a  debatable  question  if 
the  old  fashion,  rigid  frame  slat  coop  does  not  fill  the  bill  best  after  all, 
for  the  main  idea  in  getting  a  coop  is  not  so  much  the  looks,  or  the  con- 
venience in  handling,  as  the  certainty  of  not  only  affording  fresh  air  to 
the  fowls,  but  holding  up  and  holding  out  until  a  shipment  reaches  its 
destination  and  has  been  sold. 

In  this  connection  the  author  cannot  resist  saying  a  few  words  about 
overcrowding  fowls  into  a  stuffy  coop  to  be  shipped  in  a  badly  ventilated 
car.  This  is  always  a  mistake,  both  from  a  business  as  well  as  a  hu- 
manitarian point  of  view,  for  there  is  no  telling  the  heavy  losses  sustained 
in  this  way  every  season  because  careless  as  well  as  heartless  shippers 
often  try  to  make  one  coop  do  duty  for  two. 

The  remedy  is  simple:  Get  another  coop.  If  no  other  coop  can  be  had 
to  take  what  poultry  is  ready  it  is  generally  a  comparatively  easy  matter 
to  keep  the  extra  fowls  over  until  the  next  time  a  shipment  is  to  be  made, 
or  until  another  coop  can  be  obtained.  This  seems  simple  enough,  and  it 
should  be  followed  as  nearly  as  possible  in  everyday  practice.  May  we 
hope  that  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  public  sentiment,  as  well  as 
common  horse  sense  in  the  trade,  will  do  away  entirely  with  overcrowding ! 
I  repeat  that  it  is  bad  judgment  to  overcrowd  a  coop,  as  the  resulting 
shrinkage  due  to  dead  fowls,  and  the  shabby  condition  of  the  birds  that 
survive  the  terrible  ordeal  gives  rise  to  certain  losses  to  the  shipper  nearly 
every  time. 

Dressed  poultry  should  always  be  thoroughly  cooled  before  being 
packed  for  shipment.  If  the  weather  is  cool  it  does  not  require  long  for 
the  animal  heat  to  escape  after  fowls  are  killed,  and  if  stock  is  to  be 


POULTRY  199 

iced  it  is  essential  that  plenty  of  ice  is  put  into  every  barrel  and  box,  pre- 
ferably broken  into  small  pieces  and  scattered  from  top  to  bottom  with  a 
good  layer  at  each  end  of  the  package.  Fowls  should  not  be  killed  and 
packed  while  their  crops  are  full,  as  it  not  only  interferes  with  their  ap- 
pearance,, but  also  makes  them  spoil  more  quickly. 

In  handling  either  live  or  dressed  the  trade  should  always  remember 
that  it  is  only  the  best  stock  that  yields  the  best  returns.  How  many 
times  have  shippers  been  warned  to  keep  the  poor,  scrawny  and  off  grade 
stock  at  home,  and  on  top  of  the  good  advice  how  often  have  they  loaded 
up  with  a  lot  of  fowls  that  look  as  if  they  were  the  original  "scare  crows" 
whose  pictures  we  see  in  the  story  books !  The  author  has  observed  that 
as  a  general  thing  the  old,  experienced  shippers  use  more  care  in  getting 
good  stock,  and  somehow  avoid  shipping  the  "umbrella  frames"  that  are 
to  be  seen  in  any  large  market  from  time  to  time.  Good,  plump,  healthy 
fowls  that  have  been  well  fed  and  watered,  and  not  overcrowded  in  coops 
or  feeding  pens  will  usually  bring  a  premium  that  pays  everybody  who 
handles  them,  whether  shipped  live  or  dressed. 

Of  late  years  the  business  of  storing  poultry  has  assumed  vast  propor- 
tions in  this  country.  And  well  it  may,  for  several  million  pounds  of 
frozen  poultry  foots  up  a  tidy  sum  of  money.  The  same  principle  that 
governs  all  other  kinds  of  produce  under  refrigeration  applies  to  poul- 
try, i.  e.,  buying  at  a  reasonably  low  cost,  and  selling  some  time  later  at  a 
price  that  shows  a  profit. 

But  owing  to  agitation  on  the  part  of  well  meaning,  yet  often  badly  in- 
formed reformers  and  health  officials,  the  frozen  poultry  industry,  like 
the  game  business,  has  been  almost  outlawed  in  some  quarters  the  past  few 
years.  Well  directed  efforts  by  organizations  like  the  National  Poultry, 
Butter  &  Egg  Association  have  done  much  to  correct  wrong  opinions  and 
head  off  ill  timed  legislation  resulting  from  the  clap-trap  of  cheap  poli- 
ticians and  from  the  scare  heads  in  daily  papers  based  upon  wrong  in- 
formation in  a  great  many  cases. 

Dangerous  and  partisan  legislation  has  been  defeated  in  the  nick  of 
time  on  several  occasions,  and  which  legislation  was  designed  to  abso- 
lutely prevent  undrawn  poultry  of  all  kinds  from  being  sold.  Experi- 
enced men  in  the  trade  know  that  such  regulations,  if  enforced,  would 
sound  the  death  knell  even  of  good  frozen  poultry,  for  it  is  next  kin  to 
a  physical  impossibility  to  keep  a  fowl  after  the  abdominal  cavity  has  been 
cut  or  ruptured,  as  infection  sets  in  quickly  and  works  more  rapidly  than 
when  the  "sealed  package"  that  Dame  nature  puts  up  is  preserved  intact. 
Such  a  blow  aimed  at  the  poultry  trade  would  certainly  work  an  injury  to 
the  general  public,  for  it  would  seriously  complicate  the  question  of  sup- 


200  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

plying  the  larger  markets  with  poultry  if  the  sale  of  undrawn  stock  were 
declared  illegal. 

A  lot  of  utter  nonesense  has  been  foisted  on  the  public  about  storage 
poultry  being  kept  for  five  or  ten  years,  and  then  sold  for  fresh.  If  any 
one  who  may  be  entirely  ignorant  of  produce  matters  would  reflect  for  a 
moment  on  this  proposition  he  would  see  that  the  items  of  storage  charges, 
insurance  and  interest  on  the  money  invested  in  the  stock  kept  for  so 
long  awhile  wound  run  away  with  the  prospective  profit  to  say  nothing 
of  the  original  capital  involved  in  an  undertaking  of  this  kind.  Those  who 
know  the  game  of  storage  poultry  can  verify  the  fact  that  it  is  rare,  indeed, 
for  frozen  poultry  to  be  carried  longer  than  eighteen  months  or  two  years 
at  the  outside.  Generally  speaking,  poultry  comes  out  of  the  coolers  within 
six  or  eight  months,  and  often  within  two  or  three  months  after  the  time 
it  is  put  in. 

It  would  help  to  relieve  the  public  unrest  on  the  subject  if  it  could  be 
advertised  widely  that  as  a  general  thing  the  object  in  putting  poultry 
under  refrigeration  is  to  hold  it  temporarily  for  a  profit,  and  not  to  render 
it  unfit  for  human  food  as  many  good  people  have  been  lead,  or  mislead, 
to  believe. 

And  for  this  unfortunate  condition  of  affairs  many  people  in  the  trade 
have  themselves  alone  to  blame.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  much  of  the 
agitation  we  have  heard  has  been  caused  from  the  acts  of  certain  unscrupu- 
lous dealers  in  years  gone  by  who  were  so  unprincipled  as  to  palm  off 
stock  for  canning  purposes  after  being  treated  with  such  chemicals  as  for- 
maldehyde, when  they  knew  full  well  the  stock  was  spoiled  or  soured,  and 
that  it  could  not  be  used  for  any  other  purpose.  But  to  the  credit  of  the 
trade  it  should  be  stated  there  is  now  less  of  this  business  going  on.  Poul- 
try men  know  that  as  a  general  thing  only  the  canners  will  take  the  infe- 
rior stock,  and  they  are  relied  upon  to  use  most  of  the  No.  2  poultry. 

Without  reserve  I  feel  safe  in  saying  that  the  honest,  intelligent  ele- 
ment in  the  poultry  trade  will  bear  me  out  in  the  statement  that  No.  2 
poultry  has  been  the  most  costly  to  the  trade,  in  raising  all  the  hue  and 
cry  for  "blue  laws"  to  kill  the  frozen  poultry  business. 

Unless  the  trade  shows  a  disposition  to  be  fair  with  the  public  the 
author  is  apprehensive  that  there  is  danger  ahead  on  the  score  of  hostile 
legislation, — municipal,  state  and  even  national,  for  it  should  be  noted 
that  Uncle  Sam  is  already  laying  plans  and  framing  laws  to  stop  the  sale 
of  bad  poultry.  It  would  be  unfortunate  to  have  this  great  business,  as 
legitimate  as  the  making  of  hats  and  shoes,  tied  up,  crippled  and  maybe 
strangled  to  death,  because  of  the  sins  of  a  few  unprincipled  scoundrels 
here  and  there  who  would  apparently  feed  people  rank  poison  if  they 


ANDARD    SINGLE    LAYER    ROASTER    STYLE    PACK;    24    BIRDS    IN    2    LAYERS;    BOTTOM    LAYER 
HEADS    AND    FEET    UP,    TOP    LAYER    HEADS    AND    FEET    DOWN  ;    ALL    HEADS 
WRAPPED  IN   PARCHMENT  PAPER  AND   PAPER   BETWEEN    LAYERS 


POULTRY  201 

could  make  a  few  dollars  thereby.  The  trade  should  set  itself  to  work  to 
see  that  safe  and  sane  regulations  are  passed  and  enforced  to  protect  the 
great  consuming  public  against  unwholesome,  infected  poultry.  This  can 
be  done,  and  will  have  to  be  done  sooner  or  later,  if  not  by  the  trade,  then 
by  the  public,  for  it  can  be  set  down  as  a  reasonably  safe  bet  that  an 
awakened  public  sentiment  will  demand  and  secure  a  remedy  which  will 
be  effective.  Some  of  the  poultry  trade  are  getting  a  delayed  reprimand 
for  sins  committed  several  years  ago. 

It  is  the  swing  of  the  pendulum  I  fear.  Unless  a  proper  remedy  of  a 
sensible  nature  is  applied,  it  is  not  improbable  that  an  erratic,  destructive 
scheme  of  legislation  will  turn  everything  upside  down  for  a  while.  There 
is  no  use  bandying  words  and  quibbling  in  fancied  security  coming  from 
having  the  trade  united  to  defeat  what  we  may  be  pleased  to  call  "revo- 
lutionary laws."  The  trade  is  powerful,  I  must  concede,  but  at  the  same 
time  a  united  front  of  the  poultry  and  game  interests  is  but  a  straw  when 
compared  with  a  united  PUBLIC.  It  is  the  merest  folly  to  hope  against 
plans  being  devised  to  eliminate  bad  poultry  from  market  channels  in  this 
country.  The  people  are  right  in  their  demands  on  this  score. 

At  present  it  appears  no  final  provisions  as  to  proper  methods  of  han- 
dling good  poultry  under  refrigeration  can  be  established.  Just  what 
effect  the  cells  of  poultry  and  other  meats  undergo  from  protracted  re- 
frigeration does  not  seem  to  be  wrell  established  among  bacteriologists.  It 
is  known,  however,  that  hard  freezing  has  a  tendency  to  "break  down" 
the  cells,  and  after  coming  out  of  the  coolers  we  know  poultry  will  not 
keep  so  long  as  when  fresh  killed.  No  one  has  attempted  to  dispute  that 
good  poultry  can  under  proper  conditions  be  frozen  and  afterwards  thawed 
out  and  eaten  without  harm,  though  it  is  not  so  tasty  as  if  fresh  killed. 
In  fact,  the  process  of  freezing  actually  improves  the  digestibility  of 
some  fowls  by  making  the  meat  more  tender.  These  are  well  established 
facts. 

To  deduce  a  sort  of  axiom:  Good  poultry  is  little  or  no  worse,  if  no  bet- 
ter, for  having  been  frozen  if  used  soon  after  being  thawed;  whereas,  bad 
poultry  is  no  better  for  being  frozen,  no  matter  how  or  when  it  is  frozen 
or  thawed,  and  if  you  will  pardon  me,  without  the  slightest  regard  as  to 
who  owns  the  stock  or  does  the  freezing  or  thawing  or  treating  with  chem- 
icals, or  putting  fresh  blood  on  it  to  give  it  a  fresh  appearance. 

Bad  poultry,  like  bad  money,  is  dangerous  and  eventually  the  most  ex- 
pensive to  those  who  handle  it.  Both  should  be  suppressed  for  the  com- 
mon good,  and  if  a  penitentiary  sentence  is  the  last  resort  to  suppress 
either  or  both,  I  am  willing  and  ready  to  register  an  "aye"  vote  to  clear 
the  atmosphere,  the  landscape  and  even  the  storages  wherever  necessary. 


202  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

It  is  hard  to  say  if  pure  carelessness  or  pure  cussedness  is  most  largely 
responsible  for  the  bad  poultry  that  has  given  so  much  trouble  hereto- 
fore. Ignorance  of  men  who  undertake  to  prepare  and  pack  poultry  for 
storing  has,  no  doubt,  given  rise  to  much  unnecessary  trouble.  By  this  I 
do  not  mean  to  convey  the  impression  that  poultry  men  are  all  numskulls, 
for  it  is  a  fact  that  many  intelligent  men  are  in  the  business. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  quite  a  few  who  do  not  really  know  the 
essentials  of  handling  meats,  and  who  make  blunders  that  seem  appalling 
to  those  who  are  "on  to  their  jobs,"  to  use  a  curbstone  expression.  Ob- 
viously, those  handling  frozen  poultry  should  be  very  careful  of  every 
detail.  Methods  should  be  improved  generally.  Cleanliness  is  a 
cardinal  virtue,  and  it  applies  with  double  force  to  preparing  poultry  for 
storing.  On  the  face  of  it  this  looks  paradoxical,  but  I  defy  any  man  to 
disprove  the  fact  that  as  a  general  proposition  packing  plants  and  feeding 
stations  can  be  greatly  improved  from  a  hygienic  standpoint.  The  water 
supply  for  fowls  before  being  killed,  should  be  free  of  poisonous  impuri- 
ties, and  only  clean  water  should  be  used  for  rinsing,  scalding  or  dressing 
poultry. 

Clean  packages  are  also  important.  After  poultry  is  packed  ready  for 
shipment  every  care  should  be  used  to  keep  it  out  of  reach  of  filthy  stenches 
and  swarms  of  flies  that  are  too  often  found  about  dressing  plants.  It 
makes  a  wonderful  difference  in  the  keeping  of  poultry  if  it  is  set  aside 
temporarily  and  kept  in  pure  atmosphere  at  a  cool  temperature  as  com- 
pared with  dumping  packages  in  a  hot  warehouse  or  next  to  a  stable  where 
putrefaction  is  invited  in  a  dozen  different  ways,  and  where  it  is  sure  to 
begin  from  some  one  of  them. 

There  may  be  some  people  who  will  resent  the  foregoing,  and  who  will 
say  "what  is  the  difference  if  the  stock  sells  for  as  much?"  I  hardly  feel 
that  this  class  of  chumps  really  is  entitled  to  a  reply,  for  generally  speak- 
ing, such  people  are  moral  degenerates  who  do  not  care  for  anything  but 
the  coin,  though  it  may  come  coated  with  a  dead  man's  blood.  He  is  a 
public  enemy  who  undertakes  to  feed  the  public  with  bad  food,  and  it 
matters  little  if  the  food  is  bad  through  negligence  or  carelessness,  or 
whether  it  is  rendered  impure  on  purpose  or  by  accident.  The  evil  re- 
sults are  quite  the  same  in  all  cases.  Let's  make  no  mistake  about  this. 

It  is  altogether  likely  that  whatever  regulations  are  eventually  put  into 
effect  to  secure  the  proper  handling  of  storage  poultry  will  go  to  the 
source  of  supply,  and  enforce  proper  handling  of  the  fowls,  even  when 
they  are  being  fattened.  There  is  a  broad  shouldered  doubt  if  "milk 
feeding,"  as  a  general  proposition,  is  not  improperly  done.  The  "cram- 
ming" process  may  be  a  hot  bed  of  trouble  before  we  are  much  older. 


POULTRY  203 

About  the  actual  process  I  shall  say  little,  as  it  is  a  technical  point,  and  I 
purposely  steer  away  from  mooted  technical  questions. 

Incubators  have  come  into  such  general  use  that  it  seems  their  im- 
portance to  the  poultry  trade  must  not  be  overlooked.  By  taking  a  sur- 
face inspection  of  the  business  we  little  dream  what  a  vast  significance 
these  devices  have  to  the  commercial  poultry  industry.  That  incubators 
make  the  business  so  extensive  none  can  deny,  for  possibilities  are  opened 
up  by  their  use  that  would  never  be  dreamt  of  otherwise. 

Since  we  are  concerned  mainly  in  this  chapter  with  the  marketing  end 
of  the  poultry  deal  it  would  be  out  of  place  to  consume  much  time  with 
fancy  breeds.  But  nothing  is  good  or  bad  except  by  comparison.  In  order 
to  form  some  idea  of.  scrub  stock  we  find  it  necessary  to  have  a  look 
over  the  aristocracy  of  the  feathered  world,  and  scan  the  Minorcans,  the 
Wyandottes,  the  Brahmins,  the  fine  turkeys,  ducks  and  geese  that  have 
aspirations  to  be  included  in  the  "Four  Hundred"  class  of  fowls.  These 
elite  birds  are  good  mostly  for  show  purposes  and  to  sell.  Some  of  them 
possess  excellent  commercial  features,  however,  and  it  is  about  these  we 
are  chiefly  concerned.  Once  upon  a  time  game  chickens  were  looked  upon 
mainly  as  fighters,  but  somebody  conceived  the  idea  of  crossing  them  with 
the  scrubs,  and  it  was  found  that  the  infusion  gave  rise  generally  to  a 
better  class  of  layers,  as  well  as  a  more  hardy  fowl.  Yet  it  has  been 
known  for  a  long  time  that  the  Plymouth  Rock  is  probably  the  best  all 
around  commercial  chicken. 

The  main  point  I  want  to  stress  is  that  a  studied  effort  should  be  made 
to  develop  new  strains  of  stock  for  all  purposes.  Those  who  are  inter- 
ested in  the  marketing  of  poultry  may  be  able  to  advance  some  practical 
ideas  of  direct  benefit  to  those  engaged  in  raising  fancy  poultry,  and  vice 
versa.  It  is  only  by  concerted  effort  that  varieties  can  be  improved,  for 
nobody  has  any  monopoly  on  ideas  in  the  poultry  business  any  more  than 
in  architecture,  or  in  any  other  sphere  of  human  activity.  A  careful  com- 
parison of  records  relating  to  different  tests  about  the  keeping  qualities 
of  various  fowls,  the  prices  obtained  for  certain  stock,  the  time  and  cost 
of  fattening, — are  all  items  that  are  worthy  of  consideration,  and  they 
are  as  broad  and  deep  subjects  as  you  want  to  make  them. 

Reference  was* made  in  a  former  chapter  to  the  subject  of  the  seem- 
ingly unfair  transportation  rate  on  poultry  when  compared  with  the  rate 
on  dressed  beef  and  other  packing  house  products  closely  resembling  poul- 
try. The  explanation  of  this  is  quite  clear.  Poultry  men  have  not  been 
organized  like  the  meat  packers.  Mainly  just  because  the  railroads  had 
it  in  their  power  to  put  dressed  poultry  in  the  first  class  with  no  car  lot 
minimum  in  trunk  line  territory  and  charge  fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  actual 


204  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

weight  of  a  shipment  for  the  ice  used  in  protecting  the  shipment,  they  en- 
forced this  system.  Concerted  efforts  among  the  trade  will  no  doubt  be 
directed  towards  a  remedy  for  these  and  other  transportation  abuses  and 
disadvantages  that  the  trade  has  met,  and  is  still  complaining  of. 

Live  poultry  cars  make  up  a  subject  that  is  altogether  a  live  one  for 
the  trade.  Why  the  railroads  cannot  be  expected  to  furnish  these  cars  as 
a  part  of  their  necessary  equipment  is  hard  to  see.  It  seems  that  these  cars 
of  special  pattern  hold  the  real  solution  of  getting  large  lots  of  live  poul- 
try through  quickly  on  a  long  haul.  Their  use  has  demonstrated  their 
worth,  and  it  -looks  as  if  some  heed  should  be  given  by  the  transportation 
interests  to  the  urgent  demands  of  the  trade  that  this  special  equipment  be 
furnished  just  as  refrigeration  is  now  furnished  by  all  important  lines 
as  a  necessary  part  of  the  needs  of  modern  transportation.  It  is  up  to  the 
poultry  trade  to  make  the  effort  to  get  this  equipment  direct. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  poultry  comes  from  widely  separated  sections 
of  the  country,  it  necessarily  follows  that  transportation  questions  must 
always  be  of  prime  importance  to  the  poultry  people.  These  problems 
must  be  studied  carefully,  and  when  proper  remedies  for  existing  evils, 
or  improvements  upon  existing  practices,  shall  have  been  worked  out,  the 
best  interests  of  the  trade  dictate  that  concerted  effort  be  made  to  put 
them  into  effect. 


Note. — Those  who  may  be  interested  in  the  strictly  technical  end  of 
selecting,  feeding,  dressing  and  packing  poultry  for  market  should  get  a 
copy  of  "Poultry  Packer's  Guide"  of  Pool  Publishing  Co.,  Mason  City, 
la.,  or  "Feeding  Chickens  for  the  Packing  House"  of  E.  R.  Shoemaker, 
Waterloo,  la. 


CHAPTER    XXVII 
APPLES 

The  apple  has  been  called  the  King  of  Fruits,  and  there  is  but  little 
doubt  that  the  name  is  well  chosen.  Yet,  despite  the  regal  sway  the  apple 
holds  in  the  realm  of  fruits,  it  should  be  observed  that  it  is  also  the  most 
democratic  kind  of  fruit,  and  paradoxical  as  it  may  seem  the  apple  obtains 
its  aristocracy  from  its  very  popularity. 

And  why  should  not  the  apple  be  the  most  popular  and  universally  used 
fruit  yet  discovered?  The  wide  range  of  varieties  in  this  country  covers 
the  entire  gamut  of  flavor  and  color  so  far  as  fruits  are  concerned. 

They  run  from  the  Maiden  Blush  and  Benoni  in  the  good  old  summer 
time  when  the  breath  of  June  seems  to  be  compounded  into  them,  clear 
through  to  the  Baldwins,  Snows,  Pippins,  Jonathans,  etc.,  of  the  fall  and 
winter,  when  the  autumn  haze  and  the  frosty  air  combine  to  develop  a 
color  scheme  in  these  and  other  late  apples  as  delicate  as  an  October 
sunset. 

In  short,  the  apple  may  be  said  to  be  a  child  of  frost  and  summer  sky, 
of  sun  and  air, — all  blended  in  nature's  laboratory  into  a  strange  mingling 
of  sweets  and  acids  producing  flavors  unknown  to  other  fruits,  and  colored 
with  green  and  red  and  gold !  Is  it  any  wonder  that  an  apple  in  the  hands 
of  a  woman  was  given  as  a  reason  for  the  tempting  of  man  beyond  re- 
sistance when  the  world  was  young? 

The  tempting  powers  of  an  apple  are  great.  We  see  it  demonstrated 
often  in  the  case  of  the  small  boy  who  persists  in  visiting  the  neighbor's 
orchard  as  he  returns  with  other  boys  from  Sunday  School,  or  from  a  for- 
bidden visit  to  the  old  swimming  hole.  When  the  opportunity  presents 
itself  he  rarely  refuses  to  eat  his  fill  of  green  apples, — perhaps  a  dozen  or 
more,  although  one  is  usually  enough  to  give  a  horse  the  colic,  and  two 
perhaps  enough  to  kill  an  elephant. 

There  are  few  counties  or  even  precincts  in  the  United  States  where  ap- 
ples of  some  kind  cannot  be  grown.  There  are  few  people  in  every  local^ 

205 


206  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

ity  who  do  not  consume  their  quota  of  apples  during  the  run  of  the  year, 
provided  the  apples  can  be  had.  Some  see  little  of  the  fruit  except  when 
green ;  others  use  it  mostly  in  pies  or  when  baked.  But  whether  from  the 
picturesque  orchards  of  York  State,  or  the  miles  and  miles  of  Ben  Davis 
in  the  Ozark  region,  or  even  from  the  vast  irrigated  stretches  in  the  far 
west;  about  all  of  our  apples  of  fairly  good  quality  under  normal  condi- 
tions find  their  way  into  consumption. 

However,  under  the  best  system  of  marketing  many  people  are  unable 
to  get  as  many  apples  as  they  would  like  to  eat,  and  at  the  same  time 
many  apples  must  go  to  waste  when  there  is  anything  like  a  full  crop. 
We  shall  treat  of  this  phase  more  fully  as  the  subject  unfolds  itself. 

Producing  nearly  every  year  an  apple  crop  ranging  from  25,000,000 
to  50,000,000  barrels,  more  or  less — nobody  knows — it  is  quite  easy  to 
see  that  the  apple  gives  rise  to  a  great  commercial  industry  both  from  a 
growing  and  a  marketing  standpoint. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  subject  of  apple  growing  has  been 
reduced  to  an  almost  exact  science,  for  much  talent  has  been  employed,  and 
vast  sums  of  money  and  considerable  time  consumed  in  prosecuting  re- 
searches and  experimenting  for  practical  results  relating  to  apple  growing. 
Although  the  field  seems  to  be  thoroughly  covered  I  have  no  doubt  but  we 
shall  see  some  more  startling  wonders  in  the  horticultural  end  of  the  busi- 
ness before  many  years  shall  have  elapsed  than  we  have  witnessed  in  a 
half  century  before.  The  matter  or  adapting  variety  to  locality  is  one  that 
calls  for  something  in  the  way  of  genius.  As  yet  we  can  hardly  say  that 
varieties  are  correctly  distributed  everywhere,  nor  evenly  divided  for 
best  results.  In  this  connection  I  merely  refer  to  the  fact  that  there  will 
be  something  worthy  of  a  deep  thinker  in  handling  this  subject  before 
many  more  years.  It  is  reasonable  to  expect  many  new  and  better 
varieties  will  be  developed  for  different  localities. 

The  study  of  apple  marketing  in  the  past  seems  to  have  made  but  little 
change  in  the  system  of  handling  the  fruit  to  that  which  our  fathers  were 
accustomed.  Numerous  books  have  been  published  on  apple  growing,  but 
the  author  does  not  recall  ever  having  seen  a  volume  devoted  exclusively 
to  apple  marketing.  Just  why  so  much  has  been  written  about  apple 
growing,  and  so  little  published  of  an  authentic  nature  about  correct 
marketing  methods  is  difficult  to  understand,  unless  we  agree  that  there 
is  more  interest  in  growing  than  in  marketing.  Surely,  fruit  men  realize 
that  it  is  of  little  use  to  produce  fine  fruit  without  proper  handling  from 
the  time  the  fruit  is  picked  until  it  reaches  the  consumer. 

Whether  it  is  best  to  sell  fruit  in  the  orchard  or  to  pick,  pack  and 
store  for  later  sale,  or  whether  to  sell  or  consign,  are  all  questions  of 


APPLES  207 

vital  import  to  successful  growers  everywhere.  The  fact  that  every 
season  brings  a  different  set  of  conditions  in  the  fruit  business  makes 
it  hard  to  tell  always  just  what  is  best  to  do,  but  before  we  are  through 
with  this  subject  I  hope  to  be  able  to  advance  some  suggestions  that 
may  be  helpful  to  the  apple  grower  and  the  fruit  dealer  alike. 

The  seasons  change  and  so  do  markets  for  apples.  If  there  were  any 
such  thing  as  luck  I  would  agree  that  it  plays  considerable  part  in  mak- 
ing or  losing  money  in  apples.  But  luck  is  a  poor  excuse  for  losing 
money,  while  it  may  sometimes  be  a  pretty  good  reason  for  making 
a  profit,  as  trusting  to  luck  is  about  as  near  real  business  as  some  apple 
men  seem  to  get.  Those  who  trust  to  luck  in  apples  will  generally  fare 
badly,  yet  it  takes  a  cracker  jack  to  win  out  every  time,  even  on  the 
best  kind  of  management.  However,  with  correct  information  about  the 
extent  and  condition  of  the  crop  in  different  sections  of  the  country 
every  year  one  can  draw  a  fairly  intelligent  idea  what  range  of  prices 
is  about  right  to  figure  on  for  various  classes  and  varieties  of  apples. 

I  am  talking  about  the  standpoint  of  the  grower  as  well  as  the  dealer, 
for  they  have  much  to  share  in  common  when  it  comes  to  getting  prices 
right,  although  we  have  found  it  often  the  case  in  the  last  few  years 
that  the  grower  has  set  out  every  season  with  a  determination  to  get  as 
much  as  he  possibly  could  for  his  apples,  while  the  dealer  seemed  bent 
on  buying  for  as  little  money  as  possible. 

This  system  is  all  wrong  in  principle  and  causes  a  clashing  of  interests 
that  should  work  in  harmony  always.  Growers  make  troubles  for  them- 
selves indirectly  when  they  undertake  to  force  prices  too  high,  as  it 
checks  the  consumptive  demand  and  re-acts  on  future  prices  to  an  abso- 
lute certainty.  It  may  catch  the  growers  a  year  later,  or  two  years  or 
longer,  but  they  feel  it  some  time.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  all  growers 
are  not  justified  in  getting  a  fair  price  for  their  fruit, — one  that  shows 
a  fair  profit  on  the  money  invested  in  their  orchards,  and  for  labor  ex- 
pended in  spraying,  cultivating,  picking,  packing,  etc.  Beyond  these 
legitimate  expenses,  and  a  fair  profit,  I  cannot  see  where  a  grower  is 
justified  in  demanding  much  more  money.  It  happens  generally  that 
there  are  not  enough  fools  buying  apples  to  pay  too  much  over  and  above 
the  "fair"  profit  to  take  an  entire  crop,  but  it  occurs  sometimes  that  a 
few  big  buyers  go  stark  crazy  and  pay  out  money  like  a  drunken 
sailor.  As  a  general  rule  it  is  due  to  concerted  action  among  growers 
in  demanding  a  certain  price  that  holds  the  market  up,  and  not  the 
stupidity  of  the  majority  of  buyers  in  openly  walking  into  the  fire.  But, 
of  course,  the  buyers  are  largely  to  blame  for  falling  into  a  trap  of  this 
kind  and  deserve  no  sympathy  for  their  folly. 


208  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

Perhaps  no  class  of  business  men  are  more  like  sheep  than  dealers  in 
apples.  Let  one  buy  an  important  orchard,  and  it  is  known  in  a  dozen 
markets  in  twenty-four  hours,  especially  if  the  deal  is  made  early  in 
the  season  and  the  price  paid  is  a  pretty  stiff  one.  And  as  soon  as  these 
early  deals  are  reported  the  trade  everywhere  often  takes  the  position  that 
if  one  can  stand  it  others  must,  and  so  it  goes.  One  or  two  sales  early 
in  the  game  have  been  known  to  have  a  lasting  effect  on  a  season's  busi- 
ness. In  fact,  the  big  early  sales  are  generally  the  ones  that  count  in 
making  the  market,  and  once  the  market  is  fixed  it  can  be  expected  to  re- 
main firm  with  possibly  slight  advances,  at  least  until  all  fruit  is  picked, 
packed  and  stored. 

Markets  of  all  kinds,  as  we  have  seen  in  a  previous  chapter,  are  deli- 
cate things  to  tamper  with.  When  business  is  going  along  smoothly  it  is 
nice  to  talk  about  having  the  situation  under  control,  but  your  seasoned 
operator  in  apples  who  has  watched  the  deal  year  in  and  year  out,  will 
tell  you  it  is  best  not  to  gamble  too  strong,  but  to  take  a  fair  profit  when 
it  is  available,  and  let  the  other  fellow  have  a  living  chance. 

The  public  is  fond  of  apples,  but  some  growers  have  yet  to  learn  that 
the  public  will  never  consent  to  be  held  up  in  order  to  enrich  any  class 
or  coterie  of  people  so  long  as  it  is  possible  to  avoid  being  held  up. 
Hundreds  of  dealers  who  have  taken  a  flyer  in  high  priced  apples  have 
paid  for  the  experience  of  trying  to  work  things  too  high. 

Manifestly  it  is  hard  to  say  at  what  price  apples  are  a  good  investment 
from  a  sane  business  standpoint,  and  when  they  assume  every  symptom 
of  the  type  of  frenzied  finance  we  see  occasionally  in  the  grain  pit,  it 
is  clear  that  danger  is  ahead. 

What  is  high  one  season  may,  in  truth,  be  a  low  figure  to  pay  for 
apples  the  next.  There  should  be  some  means  by  which  safe  limits 
could  be  indicated  to  apply  every  season  without  absolutely  trying  to 
establish  prices.  It  does  little  practical  good  so  far  as  the  market  is 
concerned  to  have  the  dealers  and  the  growers  organized  in  rival  camps, 
the  course  of  whose  operations  are  generally  diametrically  opposed  to 
each  other.  Such  a  system  only  makes  for  chaos  and  uncertainty,  when 
it  is  obvious  that  the  best  interests  of  grower  and  dealer  are  always 
parallel.  It  avails  little  if  the  growers  could  force  prices  up  to  $10  per 
barrel  in  the  orchard,  and  make  the  buyers  load  up  and  go  broke  in  one 
year,  for  who  would  buy  their  fruit  next  year?  On  the  contrary,  the 
better  element  of  buyers  know  if  apples  could  be  forced  as  low  as 
fifty  cents  a  barrel  for  good  fruit  that  certain  disaster  would  result 
to  those  compelled  to  take  such  prices,  as  it  is  below  the  actual  cost  of 
production  in  most  localities. 


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APPLES  209 

But  regardless  of  prices  from  the  orchard  or  from  the  storage  as 
between  grov/er  and  dealer,  there  is  yet  a  third  person  who  has  a  word 
to  say  about  the  price,  and  he  is  Mr.  Consumer.  His  is  the  final  word. 
Too  often  we  hear  him  blurt  out  an  unceremonious  negative  when  we 
are  looking  for  him  to  break  his  neck  to  take  some  more  of  our  "strictly 
fancy"  apples  at  a  strictly  fancy  price. 

The  effects  of  high  prices  on  the  apple  market  are  well  known.  When 
good  eating  apples  are  going  to  the  consumer  early  in  the  fall  during 
a  normal  season  at  over  twenty  cents  a  peck,  and  unless  there  is  a  gen- 
eral wave  of  prosperity  over  the  country,  there  is  cause  for  apprehen- 
sion. Even  when  everything  is  literally  swimming  in  prosperity  it  is 
possible  for  business  to  get  a  kink  that  throws  the  market  out  of  gear 
over  night. 

I  have  seen  the  deal  set  in  and  go  through  from  one  end  of  the  season 
to  the  other  without  a  quiver  or  a  hiatus  in  prices,  and  the  situation 
was  constantly  in  favor  of  holders.  But  these  occurrences  are  rare. 
We  may  safely  count  on  ups  and  downs.  To  keep  prices  on  a  correct 
level  to  meet  any  emergency  is  the  part  of  sensible  business  men  in 
handling  any  line  of  trade.  Speculation,  as  we  have  pointed  out  clearly 
in  a  former  chapter,  is  usually  bad  business,  and  it  is  hardly  worth  while 
to  dwell  on  the  folly  of  trying  to  beat  the  apple  game  by  looking  always 
for  a  big  killing.  Prospective  profits  in  apples  often  develop  into  real 
losses  for  somebody. 

The  fellow  who  sizes  up  the  situation  and  takes  some  nice  profits  one 
year  may  drop  them  the  next  year.  We  hear  more  or  less  about  apple 
profits,  but  apple  losses  also  cut  quite  a  figure  even  if  they  are  not  so  well 
advertised.  Many  a  banker  can  tell  several  reasons  why  apples  are 
good  to  let  alone  from  a  speculative  standpoint,  for  they  sometimes 
have  to  carry  over  a  loan  for  a  good  operator  who  has  a  reputation  of 
having  inherited  the  gift  of  Midas.  May  I  also  be  permitted  to  say 
that  we  have  heard  it  handed  down  in  trade  traditions  that  some  "big 
guns"  in  the  apple  game  in  times  past  who  had  aspirations  to  bloom  into 
a  sort  of  trust  to  run  the  apple  deal,  went  on  the  rocks  and  had  their 
little  machines  shattered  into  smithereens  right  at  the  time  they  figured 
the  problem  had  been  solved  and  settled?  And  some  of  these  un- 
fortunates had  ample  capital,  and  what  was  considered  the  best  talent 
that  money  could  buy. 

The  apple  industry  is  a  big  one,  but  the  country  that  supports  it  is 
bigger.  The  business  is  a  good  one  if  properly  conducted,  but  is  as 
much  dependent  upon  safe,  conservative  methods  as  the  handling  of 
drugs  or  clothing  for  sure  results.  The  business  of  handling  apples 


210      PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

offers  boundless  opportunities  for  the  conservative  business  man,  but  the 
rank  speculator  can  lose  cash  in  apples  as  easily  as  in  Wall  Street. 

Good  judgment  is  the  sine  qua  non  in  the  apple  deal.  Both  grower 
and  dealer  must  study  the  game  thoroughly  if  they  expect  to  stay  on 
the  safe  side.  The  up-to-date  element  in  the  apple  trade  takes  observa- 
tions now  and  then  by  scanning  the  horizon  all  around,  and  if  a  squall  is 
scented,  this  element,  which  is  not  characterized  so  much  for  being  in 
a  majority  as  for  keeping  a  whole  hide,  prefers  to  take  a  reef  in  the 
sails  instead  of  stretching  out  more  canvas,  and  trying  to  outrun  the 
storm  when  it  is  breaking  upon  them  in  all  its  fury. 

In  short,  the  conservative  is  the  only  apple  man  worth  while.  The 
day  of  miracles  with  apples  is  past.  Professional  speculators  should  be 
discountenanced,  and  banished  if  possible,  as  they  generally  cause  too 
muchi  trouble  in  the  apple  deal  for  the  small  profits  they  get  and  the  good 
profits  they  often  keep  others  from  getting.  If  they  could  be  forced  to  use 
their  own  money,  to  keep  their  mouths  shut,  and  to  work  quietly  it  might 
not  be  so  bad,  but  a  few  hundred  dollars  in  the  hands  of  a  two  by  four 
plunger  early  in  the  season  may  be  the  inception  of  a  campaign  that 
will  entail  losses  running  into  the  hundreds  of  thousands,  and  which  may 
put  some  good  houses  and  well  to  do  growers  on  the  scrap  heap  forever 
and  a  day.  This  much  is  certain:  No  line  in  the  produce  business  is 
better  for  investment  and  worse  for  rank  speculation  than  apples. 

General  remarks  in  foregoing  chapters  on  grading  and  packing,  and 
the  principles  deduced  therefrom  apply  with  full  force  to  handling 
apples.  The  same  may  be  said  about  the  subject  of  packages,  for  the 
matter  of  properly  packing  apples  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the 
fruit  up  to  the  best  advantage  is  of  equal  importance  with  the  matter  of 
making  a  package  that  will  stand  transportation  and  keep  well  in 
storage. 

The  comic  papers  have  made  threadbare  the  joke  about  the  farmer 
putting  the  small,  wormy  apples  in  the  middle  of  a  barrel,  and  dress- 
ing the  top  and  bottom  off  with  a  layer  of  nice,  showy  fruit.  Those  of 
us  who  have  had  the  principle  of  the  joke  brought  to  our  attention  day 
after  day  are  sometimes  led  to  ask  ourselves  if  it  is  possible  for  a 
farmer  to  put  up  a  straight  pack.  Perhaps  it  is  only  charitable  for  me 
to  refrain  from  a  direct  answer  to  this  query. 

But  it  would  be  unfair  to  drop  this  subject  here  without  saying  there 
are  many  of  the  more  progressive  growers  nowadays  who  have  found 
that  proper  grading  and  packing  is  a  means  of  building  up  a  good  repu- 
tation and  making  money,  and  have,  therefore,  decided  upon  a  differ- 
ent line  of  action  from  that  made  famous,  or  infamous,  by  some  of  their 


APPLES  211 

elders.  It  may  require  an  optimist  to  say  it,  but  the  author  honestly 
believes  from  his  observation  of  the  subject  that  honest,  straight  packing 
will  be  more  popular  among  the  growers  themselves  in  the  future  than 
in  the  past. 

Apple  packing  is  at  once  a  science  as  well  as  an  art.  To  learn  a 
system  of  packing  is  a  matter  that  requires  no  special  genius,  but  it 
does  call  for  some  exceptional  intellect  to  originate  new  ideas  in  packing 
apples,  as  is  true  of  other  produce  affairs. 

Perhaps  for  many  years  to  come  the  barrel  will  continue  to  be  the 
favorite  package  in  eastern  .territory,  and  the  box  will  be  used  for  most 
western  apples.  There  are  many  reasons  why  this  statement  is  well 
founded.  The  sanction  of  usage  is  stronger  than  statute  law.  Barrels 
are  more  easily  obtained  in  the  eastern  territory  than  in  the  west.  Box 
material,  on  the  contrary,  is  more  abundant  in  the  west  than  in  the  east. 

Opinions  differ  as  to  which  package  is  best  for  all  around  use.  Both 
have  special  features  that  are  desirable  for  certain  purposes.  Neither 
can  hardly  be  called  a  perfect  package,  for  perfection  is  a  quality  that 
is  not  attributable  to  any  feature  of  produce. 

The  movement  begun  in  the  trade  to  adopt  a  standard  box  and  a  stand- 
ard barrel  is  a  good  one,  and  should  be  pushed  to  the  logical  conclusion. 
It  would  seem  that  this  matter  would  have  been  settled  long  ago.  To 
have  barrels  in  use  that  hold  eleven  pecks,  and  others  that  hold  only  ten 
pecks  is  bound  to  result  in  confusion.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the 
difference  in  the  dimensions  between  the  box  used  in  Colorado  as  com- 
pared with  the  box  used  in  Idaho,  Montana,  Oregon  and  Washington. 
These  official  standards  cannot  be  established  too  soon,  nor  can  they  be 
adhered  to  any  too  closely. 

Trade  terms  should  be  specific,  and  above  all,  should  be  honest  in  their 
theory  and  practice.  If  it  develops  that  the  sizes  of  barrels  and  boxes 
need  to  be  varied  for  proper  packing  of  different  sizes  or  varieties  of  fruit 
it  is  a  comparatively  easy  matter  to  fix  upon  a  system  to  cover  these  differ- 
ences, and  once  the  trade  becomes  accustomed  to  the  differences  there 
should  be  no  trouble  to  transact  business  on  the  various  bases  covered  by 
the  range  in  size  of  barrel  or  box. 

Again  the  matter  of  official  weight  to  be  contained  in  a  barrel  or  box 
of  different  varieties  is  too  often  a  mooted  question.  This  laxity  in 
fixing  upon  a  proper  standard  gives  rise  to  uncalled  for  excess  charges 
for  transportation.  If  it  is  necessary  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agri- 
culture should  make  some  investigations  as  to  the  actual  weights  of 
apples,  and  help  the  various  states  to  fix  laws  that  would  be  more  ac- 
curate than  the  slip-shod  system  now  in  vogue. 


212  PRODUCE   MARKETS   AND  MARKETING 


To  go  into  any  elaborate  discussion  of  varieties  regarded  staple  by 
the  trade  would  be  more  in  the  field  of  horticulture  than  in  the  scope 
of  a  treatise  devoted  to  the  marketing  end  rather  than  to  the  growing 
of  fruits.  However,  there  are  some  things  that  ought  to  be  said  abon 
varieties  in  this  chapter,  and  we  cannot  well  omit  all  comment  or  ,ya. 
gestions.  j  ,5, 

Of  the  different  kinds  of  apples  there  is  no  end  apparently.  An  ^id 
fruit  grower  who  has  devoted  most  of  his  time  and  thought  to  apples 

Id  the  author  a  few  years  ago  he  had  flattered  himself  on  several 
to  believe  he  knew  every  variety  of  apples  in  the  United 
States,  but  as  b(JOn^s  he  got  himself  to  the  point  he  thought  he  had  tab  on 
all  the  different  varipties^Hm^TT^w.  j±K.ti¥i»^pu.]4  bob  up  and  show  him 
there  is  always  something  new  under  the  sun,  at  least  with  respect  to 
the  different  varieties  of  apples. 

Quite  a  lot  of  amusement  was  caused  by  a  bit  of  pseudo-social  gossip 
which  went  the  rounds  about  a  decade  ago,  and  which  personated  the 
different  varieties  of  apples.  It  ran  something  like  this; 

"The  Duchess  of  Oldenburg,  who  was  a  fair  lady,  was  engaged  to  be 
married  to  a  young  army  officer,  Captain  Rolfe  Vandevere.  It  was 
annuounced  in  June  that  the  marriage  would  take  place  in  Early 
Harvest. 

But  Lady  Minkler,  who  had  become  enamored  of  the  captain,  em- 
ployed a  Northern  Spy  to  take  a  Horse  to  Greenville  and  confer  with 
the  Primate  of  Lankford,  and  endeavor  to  have  him  intercede  with 
King  Mclntosh  to  secure  a  leave  of  absence  for  the  captain,  so  that 
he  could  spend  a  vacation  shooting  on  her  estate  in  the  Wolf  River 
country  near  the  confluence  with  the  St.  Lawrence  in  Ontario. 

The  Primate  was  indisposed,  and  referred  the  emissary  to  a  Faimuese 
Dominie  named  Ivanhoe,  who  was  generally  intoxicated  with  Canada 
Red  Wine.  Being  unsuccessful  in  his  efforts  the  Spy  returned  to  his  Lady 
employer  bearing  an  exquisite  Belleflower  that  would  make  any  Maiden 
Blush  with  envy. 

Before  further  action  was  possible  the  captain,  who  was  a  Wealthy 
Mann,  was  out  for  a  jaunt,  and  being  tired  sat  on  a  Stump  near 
Cooper's  Market  drinking  Smith's  Cider,  and  while  resting  he  was 
struck  by  a  Mammoth  Black  Twig,  which  he  Swaars  was  wielded  by 
Walter  Pease,  who  had  become  jealous  over  the  captain's  attentions  to 
Caroline  R.,  a  famous  Western  Beauty,  who  was  a  daughter  of  the 
well  known  Arkansas  Black  Senator.  Dr.  Baldwin  was  hastily  sum- 
moned and  after  an  examination  of  his  patient  a  consultation  was 
held  with  Dr.  Gravenstein,  and  they  decided  to  remove  the  patient  to 
Lowell  for  an  operation. 


APPLES  213 

News  of  the  felonious  assault  spread,  and  the  suspect  confessed  the 
crime.  He  escaped  to  Spitzenberg  where  he  found  Scott's  Winter  as 
disagreeable  as  he  had  heard.  His  only  recreation  was  reading  the 
papers  from  Pewaukee  and  his  sole  companion  was  Sitovka  Arabskoe 
Tetofsky,  a  famous  Russian  nihilist  in  exile.  This .  made  him  Stark 
mad. 

The  captain  recovered  slowly,,  and  he  was  removed  to  the  home  of 
Colonel  Porter,  and  later  to  Hotel  Salome  where  Bismarck  formerly 
stayed.  Upon  his  recovery  both  the  fair  contestants  began  laying  plans 
to  monopolize  the  young  officer's  attentions.  Delicacies  like  Chenango 
Strawberries,  Jersey  Sweet  pears,  Winter  Bananas  and  Saps  of  Wine 
were  sent  by  both  ladies  daily. 

R.  I.  Greening,  who  was  a  boyhood  friend  of  the  captain's,  insisted 
that  he  break  with  the  two  lovers,  and  devote  his  attention  to  a  Miss 
Crabb,  a  niece  of  the  Honorable  Pearmain  Walbridge,  a  well  known 
financier  and  ship  owner.  But  this  young  lady  had  previously  been 
engaged  to  a  young  man  named  Ben  Davis,  who  Haas  a  Delaware  Red 
complexion  and  who  had  followed  the  course  of  Alexander  in  conquer- 
ing the  world  of  femininity,  and  then  began  weeping  because  there  was 
nothing  more  to  subdue.  In  his  York  Imperial  sway  Davis  had  en- 
countered Jonathan  Wagner,  a  shrewd  attorney,  who  had  designs  on  the 
young  Heiress  himself. 

The  captain  having  decided  to  discard  his  erstwhile  lovers,  realized 
he  had  a  difficult  undertaking  ahead  of  him  in  dealing  with  the  two 
rivals  for  the  hand  of  the  rich  heiress,  and  he  observed  that  only  a 
paragon  could  hope  to  win  out  eventually.  He  accordingly  procured 
a  Red  Astrachan  with  Stars  on  the  collar  and  lapels,  so  as  to  give  a 
soldierly  air  to  his  dress.  He  purchased  a  necklace  of  Opalescent 
pearls  of  Baxter,  the  jeweler,  a  lover's  talisman  called  "Nonesuch" 
from  a  fakir,  provided  himself  with  a  bouquet  of  Sweet  Boughs,  a  vol- 
ume of  Belle  de  Boskoop's  poems,  a  copy  of  the  old  painting  "Walker's 
Beauty"  and  set  out  to  see  his  lady  fair.  His  reception  was  cordial  and 
his  conversation  was  Golden  Sweet.  He  pushed  his  case  and  soon 
proved  himself  the  victor,  as  cards  were  out  shortly  announcing  the 
engagement.  At  the  marriage  Gideon  Ewalt  was  best  man  and  Miss 
Benoni  Boiken  Hubbardson  was  bridesmaid. 

To  make  a  complete  romance  the  two  rivals  for  the  hand  of  the 
young  heiress  met  the  two  rivals  who  had  sought  to  become  the  wife  of 
the  captain  and  matches  resulted  between  Lady  Minklcr  and  Jonathan 
Wagner,  and  between  the  Duchess  of  Oldenburg  and  Ben  Davis. 

The  captain   and   his    fair   young  wife  .arranged   a   wedding  tour   for 


214  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

the  three  couples  together,  and  plans  were  fixed  to  leave  by  Maxon's 
Early  tour  for  Peck's  Pleasant  hotel  at  Pippin,  a  Newtown  in  Switzer- 
land, where  the  Roses  Bloom  and  Talman's  Sweet  violets  grow  the  year 
round  in  the  valleys  where  the  Transparent  brooks  mingle  their  songs 
with  the  sounds  of  birds  and  lowing  herds. 

The  party  had  a  great  time  climbing  mountains  skirted  with  Russet 
forests,  and  found  the  Snows  of  many  winters  on  the  craggy  peaks 
nearby.  With  the  exception  of  Ben  Davis,  who  is  consumptively  in- 
clined, all  the  party  voted  the  trip  the  greatest  event  of  their  lives." 

From  the  foregoing  it  is  plain  to  see  that  there  are  nearly  one  hun- 
dred varieties  of  apples  that  are  not  uncommon,  although  less  than  half 
this  number  constitute  the  bulk  of  the  fruit  we  generally  find  handled 
in  our  markets.  It  has  been  said  among  some  well  informed  apple 
men  that  outside  of  twenty  to  twenty-five  varieties  there  is  little  of 
commercial  interest. 

The  old  standbys  for  winter  fruit  such  as  Baldwins,  Greenings, 
Spys,  Russets,  Kings,  Pippins,  Twenty  Ounce,  Spitzenbergs,  Jonathans, 
Ben  Davis,  etc.,  claim  first  attention..  Other  varieties  are  usually  re- 
ferred to  as  being  "odd,"  and  the  term  is  well  used.  Perhaps  a  hun- 
dred different  varieties  have  been  lost  track  of  and  forgotten  in  the 
history  of  fruit  growing  in  this  country. 

For  a  variety  to  survive  it  must  be  a  good  apple  in  appearance  and 
flavor;  it  should  also  be  a  good  keeper  and  should  be  capable  of  being 
produced  at  a  nominal  cost.  Everything  considered,  it  is  not  improbable 
that  if  a  correct  expression  of  opinion  could  be  had  from  leading  apple 
men  not  swayed  by  prejudice  in  some  way,  that  the  Baldwin  would  be 
found  the  favorite  as  an  all  around  apple  in  barrels,  and  Jonathans  in 
boxes.  But  different  markets  and  varied  trade  requirements  demand 
different  varieties,  and  it  is  true  that  an  assortment  must  be  handled  to 
get  best  results. 

Perhaps  in  this  connection  some  comment  on  the  Ben  Davis  apple 
will  not  be  out  of  place,  although  the  author  realizes  he  is  in  danger 
of  "treading  on  the  tail  of  somebody's  coat"  when  he  speaks  his  honest 
sentiments  in  regard  to  this  apple,  as  he  believes  there  are  more  people 
deluded  as  to  the  real  merits  or  demerits  of  this  variety  than  were  ever 
able  to  get  a  correct  idea  as  to  its  real  value. 

I  shall  try  to  refrain  from  knocking  poor  old  Ben;  he  has  been 
knocked  enough  by  those  who  have  tried  to  get  "freight  charges"  out 
of  him  when  the  markets  are  glutted.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  the 
Ben  Davis  is  a  good  keeper,  but  an  apple  salesman  once  told  the  author 
pointedly  that  this  quality  should  never  be  argued  in  favor  of  the  Ben 


APPLES  215 

Davis,  for  said  he  "We  want  an  apple  to  sell  and  not  to  keep."  Of 
course,  he  was  only  half  right.  But  the  Ben  Davis  is  absolutely  power- 
less as  an  apple  to  overcome  the  half  of  the  objection  implied  in  the 
salesman's  remark.  That  is,  the  Ben  Davis  is  utterly  and  absolutely 
lacking  in  some  of  the  essential  qualities  that  go  to  make  a  desirable 
apple.  True,  the  Ben  Davis  is  of  good  color,  but  the  flavor  is  not 
there,  and  no  amount  of  quibbling  and  false  logic  can  make  it  compare 
with  other  better  fruit.  The  strongest  proof  of  this  is  found  in  the 
prices  that  usually  prevail.  Now,  there  is  little  sentiment  in  an  Amer- 
ican dollar.  The  markets  adjust  themselves  sooner  or  later.  The  good, 
desirable  varieties  of  apples,  like  good  securities,  go  at  a  premium. 
You  cannot  get  away  from  this  fact.  It  is  only  in  rare  cases  that  we 
see  a  Ben  Davis  selling  at  top  prices.  Why? 

The  author  is  one  of  an  increasing  number  in  the  trade  who  really 
believes  a  mistake  has  been  made  among  many  western  fruit  people 
in  planting  such  an  enormous  acreage  to  Ben  Davis  apples.  The 
trees  thrive,  the  yield  is  generally  good  and  the  fruit  can  usually  be 
moved  at  something  like  a  profit.  But  if  a  variety  of  a  better  apple 
had  been  substituted  for  part  of  the  acreage  planted  to  Ben  Davis 
it  is  the  opinion  of  numbers  of  men  that  the  aggregate  profits  from 
apple  growing  in  the  west  would  have  been  higher  during  the  past  ten 
years,  and  would  be  even  higher  in  the  future  than  are  now  in  pros- 
pect. It  is  clear  that  some  of  the  leading  growers  recognize  this  is 
true.  Sentiment,  I  presume,  causes  some  of  them  to  deny  the  fact. 

But  it  seems  the  Ben  Davis,  apple  will  be  a  bone  of  contention  to 
the  end  of  time.  It  is  difficult  to  predict  what  the  final  status  of  this 
apple  will  be  from  a  commercial  standpoint.  Poor  old  Ben !  He  was 
idolized  once  upon  a  time  as  a  hero,  and  like  the  people  are  fond  of 
doing,  he  was  probably  set  upon  a  pedestal  only  to  be  knocked  down 
and  forgotten.  Those  who  have  strewn  flowers  in  his  pathway,  and 
shouted  hosannas  in  his  name  may  be  the  very  ones  who  will  yet  deride 
him  most  bitterly  and  cry  out  the  loudest  to  crucify  him.  We  can  never 
tell  what  people  will  do,  especially  those  who  grow  Ben  Davis  apples. 
Let  us  hope  if  they  ever  make  a  change  in  selecting  a  variety  to  substi- 
tute for  Ben  Davis  they  will  use  good  judgment  and  get  a  better  apple; 
they  could  hardly  get  one  that  is  worse. 

Those  who  own  Ben  Davis  orchards  and  who  may  like  this  apple  be- 
cause it  has  been  fairly  profitable  sometimes,  and  who  may  be  disposed 
to  condemn  the  author  for  his  alleged  strictures  on  old  Ben,  should  bear 
in  mind  that  the  author  is  speaking  from  the  standpoint  of  the  whole, 
and  not  from  that  of  the  individual.  It  is  far  from  my  intention  to  say 


216  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

that  the  Ben  Davis  apple  has  not  made  some  money,  but  it  has  also  lost 
some  money  to  its  promoters,  to  growers,  for  it  has  lost  them  the  oppor- 
tunity to  get  a  real  apple  in  the  place  of  a  roll  of  pulp  in  a  coat  of 
Morocco.  Let  us  change  the  subject  to  a  more  pleasant  theme. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  during  the  past  quarter  of  a  century  there 
has  been  such  a  marked  increase  in  the  number  of  apple  trees  in  the 
United  States  it  is  quite  natural  that  the  question  of  possible  overpro- 
duction is  one  that  claims  some  attention  from  a  strictly  commercial 
standpoint. 

Before  one  can  even  attempt  to  answer  the  query:  Is  there  real 
danger  of  overproduction  of  apples  in  the  United  States?  it  is  necessary 
to  consider  a  great  many  collateral  factors,  and  perhaps  qualify  either 
a  negative  or  affirmative  answer  with  a  half  dozen  conditions,  for  it  is 
certain  there  are  two  sides  to  the  question. 

Beyond  doubt  there  are  too  many  inferior  apples  grown  in  this  coun- 
try. Quality  is  the  great  desideratum  in  the  apple  deal  as  in  the  case 
of  other  fruits.  A  great  many  apples  that  are  put  on  sale  every  year 
in  all  our  markets  are  often  of  more  harm  than  good  to  the  trade  gen- 
erally. There  are  many  reasons  why  this  is  true.  The  very  presence 
of  a  bad  apple  on  any  market  has  a  demoralizing  effect,  just  as  in  the 
case  of  a  decayed  apple  if  kept  among  sound  fruit  for  a  short  while. 
Those  who  are  accustomed  to  watching  the  markets  closely  know  that 
sharp  breaks  in  prices  are  due  in  a  majority  of  cases  to  an  overload  of 
poor,  indifferent  stock.  There  must  be  a  heavy  reduction  in  prices 
to  move  inferior  apples  when  the  market  is  oversupplied.  Good  stock 
suffers  through  sympathy  when  these  slumps  come  from  an  excess  of 
poor  fruit. 

But  we  must  have  some  No.  2  apples,  say  the  devotees  of  the  bulk 
apple  deal.  It  is  quite  true  that  a  certain  class  of  trade  must  have  a 
low  grade  apple  and  cannot  use  any  other.  But  here  is  where  the 
danger  lies,  and  whence  comes  trouble  so  often.  In  trying  to  supply 
this  class  of  trade  the  effort  is  too  successful;  the  markets  are  clogged 
up  and  demoralized.  For  the  past  few  years  individual  growers  appear 
to  have  done  a  little  more  real  thinking  on  this  subject  and  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  they  have  been  too  zealous  in  putting  inferior  stock 
on  sale.  Credit  for  improvement  can  hardly  be  attributed  to  good 
judgment  so  much  as  to  heavy  losses  that  have  been  occasioned  from 
time  to  time  by  "saving  at  the  spigot  and  wasting  at  the  bung,"  as  it 
were,  which  is  certainly  what  the  process  of  "packing  everything"  is 
when  followed  by  so  many  growers. 

Obviously  there  should  be  some  plan  devised  to  determine  what  per 


APPLES  217 

centage  of  stock  of  undergrade  apples  should  be  placed  on  sale  in  com- 
petition with  better  stock.  It  is  the  opinion  of  many  experienced  apple 
men  that  two-thirds  or  three-fourths  of  the  poor  stock  should  be  used 
only  for  drying,  canning,  evaporating,  cider  or  for  other  by-products 
instead  of  shipping  to  market  to  be  sold  to  supply  paupers  and  peddlers. 
Xo  doubt  many  growers  are  blind  to  the  actual  quality  of  their  fruit. 
Just  because  they  grow  and  pack  a  lot  of  No.  2  stock  will  not  serve- 
to  make  buyers  pay  one  cent  above  the  market  for  it.  We  have  ob- 
served how  totally  devoid  of  sentiment  is  the  American  dollar.  It  is 
notably  true  as  applied  to  inferior  apples. 

It  is  neither  desirable  nor  possible  to  shut  out  all  undergrade  apples, 
for  that  would  make  it  hard  on  some  of  the  people  to  get  any  apples 
at  all.  But  in  order  to  supply  this  class  of  trade  it  is  unwise  to  injure 
that  other  branch  that  uses  better  stock.  There  is  the  rub.  I  insist 
there  should  be  a  remedy  worked  out  for  this  vexed  problem  of  dealing 
with  the  over-supply  of  poor  apples.  How  best  to  do  it  I  shall  not  at- 
tempt to  say.  But  there  will  be  a  way  found  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years,  and  the  man  or  set  of  men  who  are  sensible  enough  to  set  the 
scheme  in  operation  will  be  hailed  as  benefactors  to  the  trade  and  the 
country  generally. 

It  can  be  done  without  injury  or  inconvenience  to  anyone,  but  with 
positive  benefit  to  those  who  invest  their  money,  time  and  thought  in  the 
handling  of  apples,  and  who  are  entitled  to  every  reasonable  safeguard 
to  protect  them  against  losses  due  to  haphazard  methods.  There  has  been 
a  woeful  lack  of  system  in  handling  poor  apples.  Both  growers  and 
dealers  are  to  blame  for  this  condition  of  affairs  and  the  remedy  lies 
between  these  two.  Neither  can  put  the  remedy  into  effect  without  the 
co-operation  and  consent  of  the  other. 

With  respect  to  the  better  grades  of  apples  we  need  hardly  take 
more  than  a  word  to  explain  that  there  never  has  been  and  probably 
never  will  be  a  real  overproduction  of  apples.  That  is,  when  good 
apples  are  sold  at  reasonable  prices  and  are  kept  moving.  This  state- 
ment is,  of  course,  predicated  on  the  assumption  that  the  country  is  in 
a  flourishing  condition.  When  business  is  bad,  as  it  must  be  at  times, 
it  seems  a  few  apples  will  go  a  long  way.  But  remedy  the  frequent  over 
supply  of  inferior  stock,  cut  out  crack  brained  speculation  and  there 
should  never  be  any  trouble  in  dealing  with  good  apples.  The  people 
of  this  country  have  come  to  realize  that  the  apple  is  a  good  thing  to  eat, 
and  under  normal  conditions  our  people  will  spend  money  on  things 
beneficial  in  so  many  ways  as  good  apples  are. 

This    naturally    suggests    the    question:      How   may    the    demand    for 


218  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

good  apples  be  stimulated?  Can  the  quantity  consumed  be  increased  if 
a  consistent  campaign  of  advertising  is  followed  out?  Is  a  national 
apple  day  necessary  to  improve  the  demand  throughout  the  country? 
These  questions  certainly  furnish  food  for  thought.  No  one  who  has 
studied  the  situation  carefully  will  feel  disposed  to  discount  the  possi- 
bilities of  extending  the  demand  for  apples.  What  has  been  done  in 
-the  case  of  western  boxed  fruit  the  past  few  years  furnishes  a  good 
example  of  the  possibilities  in  judicious  advertising.  But  advertising 
can  only  supplement  quality;  it  can  never  supply  it  or  take  its 
place.  Once  get  the  right  quality  and  call  attention  to  it,  and  the  job 
is  well  nigh  complete  with  the  energy  that  the  trade  shows  in  pushing 
things. 

The  author  deems  it  both  feasible  and  expedient  for  the  trade  to 
raise  and  use  a  fund  to  promote  an  advertising  campaign  for  the  pur- 
pose of  educating  the  public  regarding  the  benefits  of  eating  apples. 
This  could  be  done  at  a  small  cost  to  the  thousands  of  people  who  devote 
most  of  their  time  to  growing  and  marketing  apples.  Properly  handled 
the  results  should  be  highly  satisfactory.  A  comparatively  small  fund 
of  a  few  thousand  dollars  would  make  a  beginning  in  a  round  of  pub- 
licity that  would  be  calculated  to  develop  amazing  returns  if  the  scheme 
is  kept  up  and  vigorously  pushed  from  time  to  time. 

A  campaign  of  publicity  to  enlighten  apple  growers  would  be  as 
desirable  as  to  educate  the  general  public.  Hardly  more  than  one  out 
of  every  hundred  fully  realizes  the  importance  of  careful  spraying  and 
proper  care  of  orchards.  The  percentage  of  those  who  take  care  of  their 
orchards  is  no  doubt  increasing,  but  much  remains  to  be  done  in  order  to 
get  apple  growing  on  the  proper  basis  all  over  the  country.  The  far  west 
has  set  a  good  example  and  the  premium  that  most  western  fruit  com- 
mands is  sufficient  to  justify  the  prediction  that  the  moral  effect  will 
not  be  lost,  for  our  people  generally  will  go  your  way  if  you  show  them 
they  can  make  money  by  doing  so. 

Those  of  us  who  have  de,voted  any  time  to  thinking  over  the  proposi- 
tion realize  that  a  rigid  spraying  law  is  inevitable  in  a  large  portion 
of  the  United  States  in  the  near  future  if  fruit  growing,  especially 
apples,  is  to  continue  an  important  and  profitable  industry.  In  a  given 
locality  a  majority  of  growers  may  be  progressive  and  take  the  best 
care  of  their  orchards,  going  to  considerable  trouble  and  expense  every 
season,  only  to  have  their  work  rendered  useless  by  a  few  careless,  lazy 
owners  who  allow  their  orchards  to  become  hot  beds  for  the  develop- 
ment and  spread  of  diseases  and  pests.  Therefore,  the  edict  of  uni- 
versal, intelligent  spraying  is  soon  to  become  a  reality  everywhere. 


APPLES  219 

Those  who  refuse  to  keep  abreast  of  the  times  will  simply  have  to 
drop  out  of  the  game,  for  the  element  that  aims  at  being  progressive 
and  prosperous  cannot  afford  to  be  hampered  and  held  back  by  a  few 
drones.  The  matter  of  compulsory  spraying  has  already  been  delayed 
too  long;  early  action  will  help  to  prevent  further  losses  to  those  who 
have  investments  in  large  fruit  farms  as  well  as  those  owning  single 
orchards. 

Perhaps  some  remarks  should  be  devoted  to  the  subject  of  our  export 
trade  before  this  chapter  is  finished.  It  is  conceded,  as  we  shall  see 
in  another  chapter,  that  as  a  general  rule  our  main  concern  in  foreign 
markets  is  to  take  care  of  our  surplus.  Of  course,  there  is  nearly 
always  a  good  demand  in  some  European  markets  for  a  certain  quan- 
tity of  fine  stock  from  this  country,  but  the  amount  of  apples  of  any 
kind  that  can  be  moved  across  the  water  to  good  advantage  is  a  mere 
bagatelle  compared  with  the  immense  amount  of  stock  consumed  in  our 
own  country.  In  a  word,  the  export  trade  in  apples  is  purely  an  inci- 
dent in  comparison  with  the  traffic  in  domestic  markets.  More  or  less 
stock  has  been  going  from  the  far  west  to  points  in  the  orient  the  past 
few  years,  and  that  trade  promises  to  show  a  healthy  increase  as  time 
goes  on. 

Apple  by-products  constitute  an  altogether  interesting  and  important 
feature  of  the  business  of  growing  and  handling  the  fruit.  Were  it 
not  for  canning,  cider  making,  evaporating,  drying,  making  jams,  jellies, 
butter,  brandies,  vinegar,  etc.,  it  would  be  a  difficult  job  to  find  profitable 
use  for  much  of  the  undergrade  stock  every  year.  This  is  especially 
true  during  a  season  when  apples  are  plentiful.  For  the  past  few  years 
there  has  been  complaint  among  the  dealers  in  by-products  that  not 
enough  stock  can  be  had  for  their  purposes.  At  the  same  time  we  find 
the  dealers  in  the  green  fruit  complaining  that  they  have  too  much  poor 
trashy  stock.  Obviously,  the  solution  of  the  problem  is  to  divert  the 
poor  fruit  to  its  proper  use.  It  is  up  to  the  growers  to  do  this. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 

POTATOES 

No  extended  argument  is  necessary,  I  am  sure,  to  establish  the  fact 
that  the  handling  of  potatoes  in  a  wholesale  or  jobbing  way  is  a  branch 
of  the  produce  business  that  is  entitled  to  rank  as  a  specialty.  And  by 
potatoes  we  mean  the  common  tuber,  because  of  reasons  we  shall  see 
before  going  far  into  the  subject. 

When  looked  at  from  any  standpoint  we  are  bound  to  conclude  that 
the  volume  of  business  transacted  in  handling  old  and  new  potatoes 
during  a  year  ranks  favorably  if  not  actually  ahead  of  any  other  single 
item  in  the  fruit  or  vegetable  line  so  far  as  the  value  is  concerned.  It 
is  a  difficult  matter,  of  course,  to  form  any  definite  idea  about  the  enor- 
mous trading  that  is  done  in  potatoes  during  a  twelvemonth  until  we 
consider  the  fact  that  no  other  commodity  is  more  widely  used  as  a 
food  product,  and  is  so  capable  of  as  many  styles  of  serving  as  the 
prosaic  spud. 

On  nearly  every  bill  of  fare  in  nearly  every  restaurant  or  hotel  we 
find  potatoes  included  with  practically  all  meat  orders,  and  it  would  be 
a  poor  sort  of  eating  establishment  that  could  not  serve  German  fried, 
French  fried,  au  gratin,  shoe  strings,  mashed,  hashed,  boiled  or  baked 
potatoes  along  with  any  kind  of  meal. 

And  what  potatoes  are  eaten  in  the  tens  of  thousands  of  restaurants 
and  hotels  throughout  this  country  are  as  a  mere  handful  when  com- 
pared with  the  millions  of  homes  of  the  rank  and  file  of  our  people 
whose  members  must  have  a  substantial  diet,  and  who  rely  upon  the 
potato  as  the  best  and  cheapest  all  around  dish  for  their  purposes.  As 
a  rule  people  tire  of  almost  any  given  article  of  food  when  they  have 
it  practically  every  day,  but  it  seems  that  the  potato  is  an  exception  to 
the  general  rule  for  it  is  eaten  almost  daily  by  a  large  majority  of  our 
people — the  banker,  the  bricklayer,  the  minister,  the  moulder,  the  teacher, 
the  teamster — all  are  devotees  of  the  succulent  spud  to  a  greater  or 
lesser  extent. 

220 


POTATOES  221 

Were  it  not  that  we  are  concerned  principally  with  the  marketing 
end  of  the  potato  deal  the  author  would  feel  inclined  to  go  into  this 
subject  more  fully  and  try  to  show  why  potatoes  have  become  such  a 
staple  food  product  in  this  country.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  during  a 
greater  portion  of  the  year  potatoes  are  cheap,  and  this  must  be  con- 
ceded to  be  a  great  factor  in  their  wide  use,  for  any  food  product 
to  be  widely  used  must  be  moderate  in  cost.  But  over  and  beyond 
the  item  of  price  there  seems  to  be  a  preference  shown  potatoes  by 
the  American  people  that  is  hardly  shared  by  any  other  vegetable. 
Whether  or  not  this  preference  actually  exists,  could  better  be  discussed 
under  a  strictly  scientific  head  than  we  can  well  take  up  in  this  work, 
although  we  may  not  find  it  amiss  to  note  this  matter  of  preference  in 
passing,  for  it  can  easily  be  seen  that  such  a  preference  may  give  rise 
to  some  very  important  considerations  from  a  strictly  marketing  or 
commercial  standpoint. 

Those  with  even  an  inkling  of  the  produce  business  know  that  th<» 
potato  deal  is  classified  under  two  distinct  divisions, — the  old  and  the 
new.  At  a  glimpse  it  is  plain  to  see  what  these  divisions  imply,  and 
those  who  may  not  be  famliar  with  the  ins  and  outs  of  the  business 
cannot  do  better  than  follow  the  English,  as  the  words  "old"  and 
'"new"  are  employed  in  designating  the  two  deals  in  their  strictest 
possible  sense. 

Old  potatoes  are  those  which  are  kept  for  a  considerable  time  in 
cellars,  pits  or  warehouses  after  harvesting  in  the  fall  before  putting 
on  the  market,  while  new  potatoes  are  marketed  and  put  into  consump- 
tion soon  after  being  dug  in  the  spring.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  more 
than  state  in  nearly  all  northern  sections  where  potatoes  are  grown 
in  a  commercial  way  the  trade  have  not  found  it  either  possible  or  de- 
sirable to  market  the  entire  crop  as  soon  as  harvested.  .  The  fact  that 
the  Northern  and  far  Western  crop,  or  at  least  a  large  portion  of  it, 
can  be  stored  in  warehouses,  cellars  or  pits  and  kept  as  long  as  six  or 
eight  months  makes  it  possible  to  feed  these  potatoes  to  the  consuming 
public  slowly,  and  at  better  prices  than  if  they  were  all  forced  on  the 
market  at  once  or  within  a  short  period  of  time. 

But  in  the  case  of  new  potatoes  the  situation  is  entirely  different. 
These  are  early  potatoes,  grown  for  the  most  part  in  the  South  and  in 
the  Southwest.  They  are  grown  and  ripened  in  the  early  part  of  the 
year  when  there  is  more  moisture  in  them  than  if  produced  later 
in  the  season  from  the  same  kind  of  seed  in  a  higher  latitude.  Further- 
more, they  are  harvested  in  warm  weather,  and  this  is  not  conducive 
to  long  keeping.  Over  and  beyond  this,  new  potatoes  are  usually 


222  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

worth  more  when  they  are  dug  than  if  kept  for  any  considerable  length 
of  time,  owing  to  the  inevitable  deterioration  in  quality. 

In  brief,  this  serves  as  a  broad  distinction  between  the  old  deal  and 
the  new  deal,  as  the  terms  are  used  and  understood  by  the  potato  trade 
including  both  growers  and  dealers.  That  there  are  radical  differ- 
ences in  handling  the  two  deals,  that  there  are  features  which  even  differ- 
entiate the  two  sometimes  so  as  almost  to  make  them  separate  lines  of 
business,  we  shall  see  as  we  go  on. 

The  states  producing  the  major  portion  of  our  old  potatoes  from  a 
commercial  standpoint  are,  in  the  order  named,  New  York,  Michigan, 
Maine,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota  and  Pennsylvania  in  the  eastern  and 
central  part  of  the  country,  and  California,  Colorado,  Oregon  and 
Washington  in  the  West. 

The  average  New  York  yield  is  estimated  to  run  about  50,000,000 
bushels  while  the  Michigan  crop,  which  has  been  increasing  regularly 
during  the  last  decade,  now  comes  in  for  a  close  second  at  around 
40,000,000  bushels. 

A  great  deal  of  the  stock  grown  in  Maine,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota 
is  used  for  seed  purposes  in  planting  the  southern  crop,  and  shipments 
from  these  states  every  season  are  estimated  to  run  well  up  into  the 
millions  of  bushels.  But  the  potatoes  required  for  seed  purposes  are 
a  very  small  part  of  the  total  output  in  the  states  referred  to. 

In  nearly  all  leading'  producing  sections  of  the  foregoing  states  there 
are  a  great  many  operators  who  buy  potatoes  extensively  at  harvesting 
time  and  make  a  business  of  distributing  them  in  a  car-lot  way  during 
the  fall,  winter  and  spring  to  all  parts  of  the  country.  At  various  points 
where  shipping  facilities  are  convenient  enormous  warehouses,  are  used 
for  storing  these  potatoes  until  they  need  to  be  shipped  out  on  orders. 
These  warehouses  must  be  frost-proof,  so  as  to  protect  the  potatoes  from 
extreme  cold  weather  in  the  winter. 

The  total  commercial  crop  of  potatoes  in  the  United  States  is  figured 
on  an  average  to  run  somewhere  between  400,000,000  and  500,000,000 
bushels,  and  at  the  average  prices  on  the  farm  of  about  50  cents  a 
bushel  throughout  the  entire  country  it  easily  can  be  seen  that  the 
business  resulting  from  growing  and  handling  potatoes  is  one  of  enor- 
mous proportions. 

With  respect  to  the  early  potato  crop  in  the  South  and  the  South- 
west we  have  Texas  in  the  West  as  the  chief  producer,  with  Oklahoma, 
Arkansas,  Kansas  and  Louisiana  to  make  up  the  main  portion  of  the 
balance  in  that  territory.  In  the  East  Virginia  easily  has  first  place, 
and  the  immense  output  from  around  Norfolk  and  Cape  Charles  makes 


POTATOES  223 

potato  growing  one  of  the  leading  industries  in  that  section.  The 
three  counties  of  Norfolk,  Accomac  and  Northampton,  lying  in  a  tier 
on  the  seaboard,  are  credited  with  an  annual  average  output  of  around 
3,000,000  barrels,  and  when  one  stops  to  figure  out  at  the  average 
price  of  $2  to  $3  a  barrel  during  the  past  few  years  for  which  these 
potatoes  have  sold  at  shipping  points,  it  is  not  difficult  to  understand 
the  almost  unprecedented  prosperity  which  this  district  enjoys. 

While  we  are  treating  of  these  eastern  potatoes  grown  along  the 
middle  Atlantic  Coast  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  refer  to  the  splendid 
yield  in  southern  Maryland,  Delaware  and  New  Jersey  which  follows 
right  after  the  Virginia  crop,  and  which  is  of  about  the  same  run  of 
quality.  They  are  usually  put  up  in  much  the  same  way  as  the  Vir- 
ginia potatoes,  and  appear  to  have  established  the  growers  on  an  equally 
profitable  basis  compared  with  Virginia.  The  potatoes  grown  in  New 
Jersey  and  also  on  Long  Island  are  of  a  larger  size  and  generally  sell 
for  a  premium  if  a  fancy  cooker  is  desired. 

While  of  less  importance  from  the  standpoint  of  the  trade  at  large 
throughout  the  country,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  production  of 
potatoes  in  the  state  of  Plorida,  especially  in  the  Hastings  section,  is  an 
industry  of  by  no  means  second  importance.  These  potatoes,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  they  come  on  the  market  at  a  time  when  there  is  no  other 
new  stock  to  compete  with  them,  usually  sell  at  very  high  prices ;  it 
has  been  estimated  that  the  average  price  of  $5  to  $6  per  barrel  at 
shipping  points  for  practically  the  entire  output  of  Hastings  stock  is 
perhaps  the  highest  price  paid  for  potatoes  grown  in  any  part  of  the 
United  States.  The  output  in  that  locality  is  estimated  around  2,000,000 
bushels  annually  under  favorable  conditions. 

There  are  also  quite  a  number  of  districts  in  Georgia,  South  Carolina 
and  North  Carolina  where  potatoes  are  produced  in  a  commercial  way, 
but  they  are  of  secondary  importance  as  compared  with  the  other  early 
producing  sections  mentioned  along  the  seaboard  further  north. 

On  the  Pacific  Coast  most  of  the  new  potatoes  that  supply  markets 
in  that  section  in  the  spring  and  early  summer  are  produced  in  Cali- 
fornia, although  it  frequently  happens  that  coast  markets  draw  sup- 
plies out  of  Texas  and  Louisiana  until  their  home  grown  crop  is  ready 
to  market.  The  late  crop  of  California  amounts  to  millions  of  bushels 
a  year. 

So  far,  our  attention  has  been  taken  up  with  the  variety  commonly 
known  as  the  Irish  potato, — more  properly,  solanum  tuberosum.  But 
who  cares  a  rap  about  seeing  our  old  friend,  Mr.  Spud,  dressed  up  and 
parading  under  a  long  Latin  name?  Perish  the  thought.  Attention  is 


PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

directed  to  this  matter  chiefly  for  the  reason  that  many  people  would 
think  the  sweet  potato,  which  is  another  important  consideration  in  the 
potato  deal,  had  been  discriminated  against  woefully  were  no  mention 
made  of  that  kind  of  potato  while  we  are  saying  so  much  about  the  so- 
called  Irish  variety. 

And  it  would  be  rank  discrimination  to  leave  out  of  account  the 
sweet  potato,  for  it  is  also  a  potato  and  to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent, 
a  rival  of  the  grandiloquent  solanum  tuberosum .  so  far  as  public  favor 
is  concerned.  Yet  in  spite  of  the  wide  use  of  the  sweet  potato,  which 
is  a  most  excellent  food  product  I  must  admit,  it  is  hardly  one,  two, 
three  when  compared  with  the  Irish  potato,  old  and  new,  so  far  as 
the  nation's  food  supply  is  concerned.  In  saying  this  it  may  be  ex- 
pedient to  be  specific  in  declaring  that  I  have  reference  only  to  the 
volume  of  business  handled  and  the  value  involved. 

In  a  large  measure  sweet  potatoes  are  a  delicacy  with  a  majority  of 
our  people;  Irish  potatoes  are  a  necessity.  This  is  not  exaggeration, 
but  a  plain  statement  of  fact.  Thousands  of  markets  throughout  the 
country  which  hardly  handle  a  car  or  two  of  sweet  potatoes  during 
the  season  will  probably  take  a  car  or  two  of  Irish  potatoes  every 
week.  In  view  of  this  fact  it  would  seem  that  we  are  justified  in  this 
chapter  if  we  shall  refer  to  Irish  potatoes  as  "potatoes,"  and  sweet 
potatoes  as  "sweets."  The  relative  importance  of  the  two  kinds  of 
stock  appear  to  make  this  method  of  designating  them  quite  proper. 
If  any  excuse  is  necessary  for  this  I  have  the  everyday  practice  of 
the  trade  to  offer,  which  is  no  more  than  I  have  done  in  the  use  of  the 
names. 

Again  the  author  feels  it  imperative  to  branch  off  from  our  subject, 
strictly  speaking,  and  say  a  word  or  two  about  the  origin  of  the  potato, 
for  it  is  amazing  how  many  people  are  actually  engaged  in  growing  and 
handling  potatoes  who  know  little  or  nothing  about  the  origin  of  the 
plant  or  its  history,  and  since  many  people  in  the  trade  have  frequently 
approached  the  author  for  information  on  the  subject  he  is  persuaded 
to  believe  a  few  words  might  be  devoted  to  the  potato's  historical  aspect 
without  harm  to  this  treatise,  or  to  the  reader  who  may  not  have  been 
so  fortunate  as  to  have  been  able  to  get  the  information  from  some 
standard  work  on  the  subject. 

Strictly  speaking,  the  word  potato  comes  from  the  Spanish  "patata," 
while  the  botanical  name,  solanum  tuberosum,  is  adopted  from  Lin- 
naeus, the  famous  Swedish  botanist.  The  plant  is  of  the  nightshade 
family,  and  is  indigenous  to  the  plateau  regions  of  North  and  South 
America.  Early  discoverers  found  the  natives  in  South  America  cul- 


POTATOES  225 

tivating  this  plant,  while  it  grew  wild  in  the  mountains,  and  is  still 
found  in  the  same  state  over 'a  large  area  of  certain  favored  sections. 

According  to  some  writers  on  the  subject  the  plant  was  carried  from 
the  western  coast  of  South  America  to  Spain  early  in  the  16th  century. 
So  far  as  authentic  records  show,  the  plant  was  cultivated  mainly  for 
its  flower,  and  the  Spanish  people  made  little  or  no  use  of  the  potato 
as  an  article  of  food.  But  for  some  reason  it  appears  to  have  been 
brought  from  Spain  to  Virginia  about  the  middle  or  the  latter  part  of 
the  16th  century. 

There  is  little  dispute  that  the  potato  was  carried  to  Great  Britain 
by  Sir  John  Hawkins  in  1563,  although  there  is  some  doubt  as  to  the 
variety  of  potatoes  introduced  by  Hawkins;  Sir  Joseph  Banks  is  of  the 
opinion  they  were  sweet  potatoes.  About  1585  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  took 
some  potatoes  from  Virginia  or  the  Carolinas  to  an  estate  of  his  near 
Cork,  Ireland.  So  far  as  can  be  learned  definitely  the  first  use  of 
potatoes  for  food  purposes  was  made  by  Europeans  about  this  time. 
There  is  no  authentic  record  to  show  that  they  were  first  eaten  in  Ireland 
as  some  suppose. 

The  fact  that  the  plant  thrived  in  Ireland  and  the  food  became 
popular  is  the  reason  for  the  name  Irish  potato,  and  it  is  to  the  Irish 
that  we  really  owe  the  potato  after  all,  for  how  could  the  plant  ever 
attain  importance  or  respectability  enough  to  be  cultivated  and  cared 
for  if  the  inhabitants  of  the  Emerald  Isle  had  never  taken  hold  of  the 
potato  and  proved  that  it  is  a  fine  article  of  food? 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  stated  that  in  an  English  volume 
known  as  "Catalogus"  issued  by  Gerard  in  1596,  and  in  a  second 
edition  in  1599,  we  find  a  description  of  the  potato,  the  then  strange 
new  plant.  In  Gerard's  "Herbal,"  published  in  1597,  there  was  an 
article  entitled  "Potatoes  of  Virginia,"  which  was  accompanied  with  a 
rough  wood  cut,  and  which  served  to  bring  the  nature  of  the  potato 
before  the  English  public.  From  this  time  on  the  potato  has  grown 
in  favor  and  has  become  world  wide  in  its  use. 

Owing  to  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  potato  plant  and  its  suscepti- 
bility to  climate  and  soil  conditions,  scores  and  possibly  hundreds,  of 
different  varieties  of  the  plant  have  been  developed.  No  doubt  many 
varieties  have  "run  out"  and  have  been  lost.  Today  we  find  less  than 
twenty-five  varieties  constitute  the  bulk  of  the  millions  and  millions  of 
bushels  raised  every  year  by  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  growers 
in  practically  every  state  in  the  union.  Undoubtedly  millions  of  dollars' 
worth  of  business  is  transacted  every  year  in  as  few  as  a  half  dozen 
different  varieties.  It  would  hardlv  be  fair  to  omit  the  statement  that 


226  PRODUCE   MARKETS   AND   MARKETING 

possibly  a  fourth  of  the  potato  business  handled  in  this  country  de- 
pends upon  Rurals  and  Triumphs. 

In  New  England  the  Green  Mountain  leads  as  a  table  potato  for 
winter  use,  while  for  early  marketing  the  following  varieties  are  used 
in  the  order  named:  Irish  Cobbler,  Early  Ohio,  Bovee,  Early  Rose, 
White  Ohio  and  the  Gem  of  Aroostook. 

In  the  Middle  West  the  favorite  early  variety  is  the  Early  May,  while 
among  the  leading  late  varieties  are  the  Washington,  Gold  Coin,  Carman, 
Whitman's  White,  Mammoth  and  Sir  Walter.  Raleigh.  Other  scatter- 
ing varieties  are  found  here  and  there. 

In  the  far  West  and  in  the  Northwest  we  find  among  the  early  varie- 
ties Beauty  of  Hebron,  Early  Eureka,  Noroton  Beauty  and  the  Early 
Rose  and  Early  Roser,  which  is  not  unlike  the  last  named  but  one,  in 
some  respects.  Among  late  varieties  the  Rural  New  Yorker  is  in  a 
class  by  itself  and  is  easily  a  favorite.  Kings,  Burbanks,.  Carmans,  etc. 
are  also  found  irt  nearly  every  section. 

In  the  South  and  Southwest  the  new  crop  is  of  Triumphs  and  Cobblers 
almost  entirely,  for  these  varieties  have  proved  to  be  most  satisfactory 
for  all  around  use.  So  much  for  the  varieties  of  the  Irish  potato. 

Of  sweets  there  is  a  considerable  range  in  varieties.  The  White 
Yam  is  most  largely  used,  taking  the  country  as  a  whole.  The  Yellow 
Yam  is  also  a  good  potato  for  the  markets  that  will  use  them,  but  it 
is  peculiar  the  Northern  markets  have  never  been  able  to  do  much  with 
these  delicious  morsels,  a  dry  cooker  being  demanded  by  the  Northern 
trade.  The  red  "Nigger  Killer"  is  but  little  heard  of  or  sought  after 
nowadays. 

Unlike  Irish  potatoes  which  are  produced  in  all  parts  of  the  United 
States,  the  sweet  potato  as  a  commercial  proposition  is  restricted  to  com- 
paratively few  sections.  While  good  sweets  may  be  grown  in  half  the 
states  to  advantage  it  remains  true  that  New  Jersey,  Maryland  and 
Virginia  are  relied  on  mostly  for  the  supply  for  eastern  markets,  while 
Illinois,  Iowa  and  Kansas  are  the  heaviest  producers  of  sweets  in  the 
West.  In  the  South  where  sweets  are  used  more  extensively  than 
elsewhere  they  are  cultivated  in  nearly  every  locality.  But  these  south- 
ern sweets  are  different  potatoes  from  those  grown  further  north,  as 
they  contain  more  moisture  and  make  a  different  dish  when  cooked. 
Few  of  them  in  the  south  are  kiln  dried,  whereas  sweets  in  the  north  are 
generally  kiln  dried,  graded,  barrelled  and  handled  on  a  different  basis 
entirely. 

Reverting  to  the  marketing  phase  of  Irish  potatoes,  we  can  hardly 
consider  a  more  important  feature  of  the  subject  than  the  matter  of 


POTATOES  227 

handling  in  bulk  as  compared  with  100  pound  or  150  pound  sacks. 
Once  there  was  little  sacking;  now  it  is  so  common  and  is  such  a  popu- 
lar way  of  handling  them  that  it  seems  only  a  question  of  time  when 
all  spuds  will  be  sacked.  As  between  100  pound  and  150  pound  sacks 
for  most  markets  the  argument  seems  to  lie  with  the  former,,  mainly 
for  two  reasons :  First,  the  lighter  sack  is  the  more  easily  handled,  and 
second,  most  potato  bags  are  second  hand,  and  are  therefore  not  so 
strong  as  new  bags.  It  is  plain  that  a  bag  likely  to  be  weaker  than 
if  new  should  not  be  loaded  with  too  much  weight.  Another  thing  in 
favor  of  sacking  is  the  fact  that  a  car  of  stock  is  much  easier  to  inspect 
and  handle  either  in  loading  or  unloading,  and  the  shrinkage  is  reduced 
to  a  minimum  when  stock  is  sacked.  For  the  Virginia,  Maryland  and 
Delaware  stock  barrels  are  used  altogether. 

Among  all  shippers  of  northern  potatoes  the  matter  of  lining  box 
cars,  and  firing  cars  by  means  of  stoves  in  frosty  weather  is  a  subject 
of  deep  interest  always. 

The  styles  of  lining  are  numerous,  but  mainly  consist  of  an  inner 
frame  of  scantling  built  within  a .  box  car  which  is  coated  with  thick 
paper  or  cardboard  so  as  to  make  an  air  chamber  in  the  middle  of  the 
car,  which  must  be  looked  after  by  an  attendant  while  in  transit. 

It  is  one  of  the  anomalies  of  the  potato  shipping  business  that  the 
railroads  have  not  been  compelled  to  fix  up  these  lined  cars.  To  prop- 
erly line  a  car  requires  an  outlay  of  about  $25.  But  when  a  shipper 
lines  a  car  early  in  the  season  he  is  usually  entitled  to  the  use  of  the  car 
back  and  forth  during  the  winter,  although  some  of  the  roads  allow 
the  cars  to  be  "swiped"  while  being  returned  as  empties.  However, 
most  of  the  roads  nowadays  reimburse  shippers  for  the  loss  they  have 
sustained  wrhen  one  of  their  cars  is  "lost"  by  virtue  of  being  stolen. 
But  some  of  them  are  slow  about  making  settlement  for  "lost"  cars. 

Before  closing  with  the  strictly  commercial  phases  of  the  potato  deal 
the  author  had  in  mind  some  suggestions  and  criticisms  relating  to  cer- 
tain methods  and  practices  generally  found  among  the  trade  handling 
potatoes. 

First,  the  matter  of  correct,  honest  grading  is  one  that  will  bear  lots 
of  talking  about,  for  it  is  a  source  of  trouble  if  not  properly 
carried  out. 

Those  who  know  how  to  put  up  potatoes  as  they  should  be  and  will 
not,  are  to  bo  censured.  Those  who  want  to  assort  and  load  properly, 
but  who  may  make  serious  unintentional  errors  ought  to  be  borne  with 
and  taught  better,  for  there  can  IK-  no  doubt  that  they  need  sympathy 
and  education. 


228  PRODUCE   MARKETS   AND  MARKETING 

Potato  grading,  so  far  as  the  old  stock  is  concerned,  is  a  very  simple 
matter.  A  wire  screen  with  meshes  of  certain  size,  usually  l1/^"  or  2" 
square,  is  used  for  the  potatoes  to  run  over  and  if  handled  conscien- 
tiously there  is  small  chance  for  a  mistake  in  getting  them  properly 
put  up.  The  main  trouble  with  many  growers  and  shippers  is  that 
they  want  everything  they  ship  to  be  called  "fancy,"  and  to  bring 
fancy  prices. 

Carelessness  is  also  the  cause  of  much  complaint  over  improper 
grading.  Many  a  shipper  who  has  had  a  rejection  in  a  distant  market 
could  have  prevented  trouble  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  if  he  had  taken 
reasonable  precautions  to  see  that  the  stock  he  shipped  was  what  he 
sold.  I  am  aware  that  the  status  of  the  market  at  destination  when 
a  car  arrives  has  a  whole  lot  to  do  with  taking  up  a  draft  attached  to 
a  bill  of  lading,  as  shipments  are  usually  made,  but  unless  stock  is  up 
to  grade  there  will  be  trouble  with  a  majority  of  receivers.  Further 
than  to  say  that  official  grades  should  l>e  established,  and  strictly  ad- 
hered to,  it  would  seem  that  further  comment  is  unnecessary,  particu- 
larly with  those  who  have  had  their  fingers  burned  and  got  the  worst 
of  a  deal  when  they  sold  "fancy"  stock  and  tried  to  deliver  a  bad 
"choice"  or  something  worse.  They  are  generally  wiser  for  their  costly 
experiences. 

To  those  familiar  only  in  a  general  way  with  the  handling  of  south- 
ern new  potatoes  it  would  seem  strange  to  see  anything  like  this  chapter 
without  some  comments  on  the  carelessness  and  often  downright  crook- 
edness of  some  people  engaged  in  that  end  of  the  business. 

The  awful  mess  so  frequently  found  in  sacks  of  southern  stock  after 
being  shipped  to  distant  markets  is  certainly  calculated  to  shake  a 
man's  faith  in  humanity,  and  there  are  many  dealers  who  have  nearly 
gone  broke  importing  "real  estate"  in  the  form  of  mud  and  dirt  that 
was  unquestionably  put  into  the  sacks  by  somebody  to  perpetrate  a 
swindle  as  raw  and  rank  as  any  thief  who  robs  a  hen  roost  or  snatches 
a  purse.  The  idea  of  finding  lumps  of  mud  in  lots  of  sacks  as  large 
as  a  man's  head  is  revolting  in  the  superlative  degree. 

Of  course,  all  shippers  are  not  in  this  dishonest  class.  God  forbid. 
But  there  are  too  many.  It  would  be  useless  to  try  to  enumerate 
them,  but  just  so  many  as  they  are,  by  so  many  too  many  are  they. 
And  you  can  rest  assured  they  know  their  number  each  and  every  one, — 
growers,  shippers  and  all.  It  cannot  and  is  not  possible  that  10  to  25 
pounds  of  dirt  and  mud  could  get  into  a  sack,  and  so  many  of  these 
sacks  into  so  many  cars — usually  at  the  ends  or  placed  where  they 
cannot  be  easily  detected — unless  somebody  knew  about  it  and  knew  all 


POTATOES  229 

about  it  too.  Such  despicable  methods  have  done  a  great  deal  more 
than  many  people  suppose  to  cause  trouble.  Not  only  does  it  result 
in  heavy  losses  of  money  that  often  have  serious  consequences,  but 
the  worst  part  is  that  confidence  is  often  destroyed  and  men  who  ought 
to  work  in  harmony  are  put  into  warfare,  commercial  warfare  of 
course,  but  which  has  dire  effects  in  the  end,  for  the  "dirt"  causes 
fussing  and  trouble  all  along  the  line. 

Yes,  I  know  the  buyers  are  partly  to  blame  for  the  state  of  things 
we  are  talking  about.  Over-anxiety  to  get  stock,  which  results  in  a 
species  of  crazy  competition,  is  in  a  large  measure  responsible  for  the 
grower's  crookedness  who  sells  dirt  for  potatoes.  But  however  foolish 
and  feverish  buyers  may  be  it  is  plain  to  see  that  it  does  not  clear  the 
crooked  fellow  who  finds  he  has  the  opportunity  to  be  a  crook.  That 
is  no  excuse  whatever  for  the  crook.  Not  by  any  means,  and  if  there 
is  any  retribution,  this  crook — the  fellow  who  sells  dirt  for  potatoes — 
should  "get  his"  and  I  hope  he  does,  for  in  my  candid  opinion  he  is 
one  of  the  worst  kinds  of  crooks  that  infests  the  produce  trade,  bar  none. 

And  what  is  the  remedy  ?  I  am  sure  I  do  not  know.  I  only  wish 
J  knew  an  infallible  remedy,  for  I  would  patent  it  and  not  only  stop 
the  practice,  but  would  also  try  to  land  a  few  of  these  crooks  in  the 
penitentiary  to  make  examples  of  them  as  I  have  helped  to  do  in  the 
case  of  some  of  the  more  bold  and  confirmed  rascals  who  set  out  un- 
mistakably for  a  steal,  but  at  the  same  time  were  game  enough  to  give 
their  victims  a  run  for  their  money. 

One  very  good  plan  I  think  would  be  to  compel  every  association  and 
car  lot  shipper  of  early  potatoes  to  guarantee  stock  to  be  free  from 
dirt  and  mud  down  to  a  certain  percentage.  I  know  this  is  difficult 
to  get  into  operation,  for  when  a  sale  is  made  on  f.  o.  b.  terms  the 
f.  o.  b.  inspection  would  usually  be  final.  But  why  should  it?  Not 
every  car  can  be  carefully  inspected  at  shipping  point  by  the  buyer. 

That  is  a  physical  impossibility  and  everyone  knows  it.  The  buyer 
must  take  the  word  of  somebody  else,  and  right  there  is  where  the 
trouble  comes  in,  for  a  thief  finds  it  easy  to  lie. 

Often  cars  of  potatoes  are  bought  by  wire,  and  the  distant  jobber 
or  dealer  has  no  one  upon  whom  to  rely  for  inspection  other  than  the 
association  or  car-lot  loader  from  whom  he  is  making  purchase.  Maybe 
the  car  is  in  transit.  It  is  represented  to  be  such  and  such  stock,  and  a 
bank  guarantee  is  probably  put  up  which  is  equivalent  to  cash.  What 
recourse  is  there  when  the  unsophisticated  dealer  wakes  up  to  find  he 
has  had  a  real  job  put  up  on  him?  In  buying  what  he  thought  was  a 
car  load  of  potatoes  he  often  finds  only  about  90%  to  95%  of  a  car 


230  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

of  potatoes  and  the  rest  plain  dirt.  Some  shippers  attempt  to  excuse 
themselves  by  saying  mud  is  inevitable  in  digging  when  the  ground 
is  wet.  That  may  be  true  to  some  extent,  but  not  to  the  extent  we 
often  see  in  car-lots  that  show  so  much  dirt. 

Were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  dirt  and  mud  weigh  much  more  at  initial 
points  than  at  destination  this  trouble  would  not  be  so  bad.  But  when 
a  dealer  planks  down  hard  cash  for  18,000  or  20,000  pounds  of  potatoes 
in  a  car  and  gets  say  1,800  or  2,000  pounds  or  more  of  mud  as  often 
happens  you  see  he  is  getting  trimmed  all  around,  for  he  has  to  pay 
freight  on  the  whole  business, — paying  for  stuff  he  cannot  use, — and 
then  planking  down  long  green  to  the  railroads  to  haul  it  maybe  a 
thousand  miles  to  him.  Of  course,  when  the  car  is  unloaded  there  is 
a  shrinkage  that  often  takes  away  what  should  have  been  a  good 
profit.  There  is  a  natural  shrinkage  in  the  real  potatoes,  but  the 
weight  of  the  dirt  has  also  shrunk.  Here  is  where  it  cuts  into  the 
profits;  here  is  where  many  men  have  figured  so  industriously  to  find 
why  they  lost  money  often  when  it  looked  as  though  they  had  a  sure 
thing.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  that  these  losses  aggregate  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  dollars  every  season. 

It  is  quite  clear  to  me  that  this  kind  of  business  cannot  be  kept  up 
much  longer.  Some  of  my  kind  friends  will  no  doubt  accuse  me  of 
exaggerating  the  seriousness  of  this  matter,  and  to  such  as  may  have 
any  doubts  as  to  the  gravity  of  the  problem  I  want  to  say  if  they  could 
see  some  things  I  have  seen  and  looked  into  they  would  feel  as  I  do. 
It  would  be  hard  to  overestimate  the  seriousness  of  this  evil. 

Why  is  it  very  little  dirt  is  to  be  found  in  cars  coming  from  certain 
shippers  at  any  season,  rain  or  shine,  while  others  show  too  much  dirt 
be  the  weather  what  it  may, 


CHAPTER    XXIX 

CABBAGE 

If  I  had  been  preparing  a  volume  on  produce  affairs  twenty-five  years 
ago  I  would  most  likely  have  felt  disposed  to  offer  an  apology  for  daring 
to  devote  more  than  a  few  paragraphs,  to  the  subject  of  marketing 
cabbage. 

In  fact,  it  is  probable  that  if  a  serious  article  had  been  prepared  on 
the  subject  ten  or  fifteen  years  ago  it  would  have  been  ridiculed  by 
some  of  the  very  people  who  were  peddling  the  vegetable  when  the 
wholesale  price  was  based  on  so  much  a  hundred  heads  instead  of  by 
the  ton  as  is  the  case  in  selling  winter  cabbage  nowadays. 

But  the  development  of  the  cabbage  industry  has  been  so  phenomenal 
as  to  be  astounding.  Instead  of  finding  a  more  or  less  doubtful  and 
insignificant  business  in  handling  cabbage,  as  was  the  case  a  generation 
ago,  we  now  have  a  highly  organized  specialty  in  this  commodity 
whose  volume  easily  involves  several  million  dollars  a  year. 

Our  concern,  however,  is  chiefly  with  methods  employed  in  handling 
the  business,  and  before  the  subject  is  dropped  I  hope  to  point  out 
some  things  that  are  perhaps  well  known  to  the  trade  generally,  but 
often  overlooked  or  forgotten,  as  there  are  many  things  connected  with 
the  business  that  seem  to  be  hardest  to  discern  by  the  very  people 
engaged  in  the  buying,  storing,  shipping  and  selling  of  cabbage. 

Of  the  different  varieties  of  cabbage  we  shall  have  little  to  say,  and 
for  convenience  it  will  answer  our  purposes  to  consider  broadly  two 
classes,  viz :  early  and  late. 

In  the  first  division  we  naturally  include  the  crop  produced  in  the 
south  and  southwest  which  comes  on  the  market  the  first  half  of  the 
year  and  is  made  up  of  Flat  Dutch,  Early  York,  Louisville  Drumhead, 
Charleston,  Wakefield,  etc.,  and  which  is  usually  shipped  in  crates  hold- 
ing from  75  to  150  pounds.  Of  course,  I  refer  to  the  slat  crates  which 
are  loaded  into  a  car  that  is  usually  shipped  during  the  spring  and 

231 


232  PRODUCE   MARKETS   AND  MARKETING 

summer  under  refrigeration.  About  handling  this  early  stock  I  shall 
have  more  to  say  later  on  which  will  apply  partly,  if  not  wholly,  to 
the  other  kind  of  cabbage  as  well. 

When  we  come  to  consider  cabbage  in  the  more  northern  states  we 
have  a  different  proposition  from  what  we  find  in  the  early  varieties. 
Strictly  speaking  there  are  two  distinct  varieties  of  cabbage  in  northern 
territory,  exclusive  of  the  red  cabbage  which  falls  into  a  class  by 
itself. 

Danish  and  Holland  cabbage,  i.  e.  stock  grown  from,  imported  seed, 
are  practically  identical,  and  they  are  the  nucleus  of  the  whole  indus- 
try. Both  are  white,  mature  late  into  hard  heads  if  the  plant  has 
proper  cultivation  and  is  grown  on  the  right  soil  under  favorable  weather 
conditions. 

Domestic  cabbage  is  closely  akin  to  the  Danish  or  Holland  stock 
but  usually  comes  on  the  market  somewhat  earlier,  and  does  not  have 
the  keeping  qualities  of  stock  grown  from  genuine  imported  seed.  The 
heaviest  demand  for  domestic  stock  is  for  sour  kraut  and  for  supply- 
ing the  early  demand  before  the  stock  grown  from  imported  seed  is 
ready  for  shipment. 

By  all  odds  the  cabbage  grown  from  imported  seed  is  the  most  im- 
portant item  in  the  business.  Both  York  State  and  Wisconsin  produce 
a  tremendous  amount  of  this  stock  which  is  shipped  from  October  until 
well  along  into  the  following  April  and  May.  Continued  shipping  for 
six  or  eight  months  easily  foots  up  to  several  thousand  cars  from  each 
state.  It  should  be  stated  that  more  or  less  winter^ stock  is  also  grown 
in  Michigan  which  is  distributed  over  a  wide  territory.  On  the  Pacific 
Coast  a  great  section  is  supplied  with  cabbage  grown  in  the  Puget 
Sound  region,  where  some  very  fine  stock  is  produced.  In  addition  to 
the  states  referred  to  more  or  less  winter  cabbage  is  grown  in  Colorado, 
Iowa,  Minnesota,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania.  But  as  a 
general  proposition  the  stock  grown  in  these  last  named  states  runs 
largely  to  the  domestic  instead  of  the  pure  Danish  or  Holland  kind. 
In  the  Greeley,  Colorado,  section  the  Scotch  Cross  variety  is  grown 
quite  extensively. 

Despite  the  fact  that  our  concern  in  this  volume  is  primarily  with 
marketing  matters  it  is  essential  to  digress  for  a  brief  spell  from  the 
strictly  commercial  features  so  as  to  get  a  line  on  the  inside  of  the 
nature  of  the  cabbage  deal  by  having  a  little  glimpse  at  the  cabbage 
plant  itself. 

Even  those  who  have  taken  only  a  passing  interest  in  cabbage  know 
that  it  is  a  plant  which  grows  best  in  the  higher  latitudes.  It  would 


CABBAGE  233 

not  be  stating  an  untruth  to  say  cabbage  is  a  cool  weather  plant,  for 
when  taken  to  a  hot  climate  it  "runs  out"  when  the  second  or  third 
crop  is  planted,,  and  becomes  what  is  called  a  "collard,"  well  known 
in  the  south. 

Domestic  stock  is  the  first  step  in  the  production  of  the  collard. 
The  gap  between  the  real  hard  headed  winter  stock  grown  from  im- 
ported seed,  and  the  "blue  stem  collard"  is  .like  the  descent  from  the 
garret  to  the  cellar.  By  this  no  offense  is  meant  to  the  intermediate 
variations,  of  course,  as  the  foregoing  comparison  is  only  cited  to  convey 
some  meaning  as  to  the  wide  range  in  the  several  kinds  of  stock  in 
this  country. 

From  a  marketing  standpoint  no  one  feature  of  the  cabbage  business 
is  more  important  than  proper  selection  of  the  right  kind  of  seed  so 
as  to  begin  right.  In  southern  territory  only  the  domestic  cabbage  can 
be  successfully  grown.  To  attempt  the  use  of  imported  Holland  or 
Danish  seed  for  early  planting  would  bring  certain  disaster  to  the 
southern  grower.  But  in  the  northern  sections  where  winter  cabbage 
is  grown  it  is  short  sighted  policy  to  resort  to  cheap  domestic  seed  which 
is  often  represented  by  unscrupulous  seedsmen  as  being  as  good  as  the 
imported  seed. 

For  an  early  crop  to  be  used  for  kraut  purposes,  or  for  putting  on 
the  market  in  summer,  or  early  in  the  fall,  domestic  stock  may  be  what 
is  best  for  many  growers,  but  when  it  comes  to  planting  for  a  crop  to 
store  and  keep  for  marketing  late  in  the  winter  and  early  in  the  spring 
we  can  make  no  mistake  in  deciding  that  every  argument  is  in  favor 
of  genuine  imported  seed. 

The  fact  that  there  is  a  difference  in  the  cost  of  the  two  kinds  of 
seeds  should  not  really  enter  into  the  question  of  which  kind  to  use. 
Generally  the  imported  seed  can  be  had  at  $3  to  $4  a  pound  while 
domestic  seed  can  be  bought  for  $1.75  to  $2  a  pound.  Now,  a  pound 
of  seed  will  ordinarily  plant  about  5  acres  in  cabbage,  and  when  fig- 
ured on  the  lowest  average  yield  of  12  tons  to  the  acre  we  see  that 
the  cost  is  about  five  or  six  cents  per  ton  for  the  seed  .used.  But  it  is 
more  often  that  the  yield  of  cabbage  in  the  best  northern  sections  is  20 
to  25  tons  per  acre,  and  when  the  yield  is  more  the  cost  of  the  seed 
becomes  insignificant  when  compared  with  the  difference  in  the  keeping 
quality  and  selling  price  between  domestic  stock  and  cabbage  grown 
from  imported  seed. 

In  some  sections  there  has  been  so  much  complaint  on  account  of  a 
tendency  to  mix  Holland  and  domestic  stock  which  is  all  called  the 
"real"  Holland  or  Danish  stock  that  some  dealers  have  talked  of  fixing 


PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

a  different  scale  of  prices  to  cover  the  straight  and  mixed  kind  of  stock. 
Perhaps  this  is  about  the  only  way  that  growers  can  be  brought  to  a 
realization  of  the  fact  that  it  is  false  economy  to  save  at  the  spigot 
and  waste  at  the  bung  so  far  as  seed  is  concerned.  In  a  word,,  poor 
seed  of  the  wrong  kind  will  be  dear  at  any  price,  and  when  a  good 
winter  cabbage  is  desired  the  right  kind  of  seed  may  be  cheap  although 
it  costs  ten  times  the  price  asked  for  the  wrong  kind. 

To  get  back  to  our  original  subject  of  marketing:  Cabbage  is  a 
conundrum  half  the  time.  An  old  cabbage  man  who  has  been  studying 
the  deal  for  years  told  the  author  once  that  it  is  his  opinion  that  cab- 
bage will  go  "wrong"  about  an  average  of  two  years  out  of  every  five. 
He  would  not  attempt  to  explain  why  this  is  the  case.  Maybe  his 
average  was  figured  too  high,  yet  it  does  seem  this  vegetable  is  capable 
of  performing  some  peculiar  acts. 

It  is  always  a  puzzle  to  find  out  exactly  what  the  crop  is  and  how 
much  has  been  marketed  up  to  a  given  time  after  being  stored.  In 
the  west  you  will  hear  the  dealers  asking  how  much  stuff  is  left  in 
York  state  and  at  what  prices  they  are  loading,  and  in  the  east  they 
are  all  eyes  and  ears  to  find  what  is  doing  in  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and 
Colorado. 

Cabbage  is  tricky  and  treacherous.  You  can  never  count  the  deal 
all  in  until  the  last  car  has  been  shipped.  It  so  happens  that  the  last 
few  cars  will  often  make  a  wise  trader  more  money  than  the  entire 
season's  business.  It  is  nearly  always  true  that  just  as  the  deal  is  on 
its  last  legs  the  market  gets  a  bulge  that  makes  everybody  stand  aghast 
and  wish  for  some  of  the  stock  that  had  recently  been  sold  for  fear  it 
would  have  to  be  dumped  out  of  warehouses.  Of  course,  these  late 
deals  are  risky  and  those  who  are  well  versed  in  the  game  do  not 
favor  taking  long  chances  on  many  cars  for  the  sake  of  making  a  few 
dollars.  If  weather  conditions  have  been  favorable  for  growing  a  new 
crop  in  the  south  most  of  the  warehouses  are  unsafe  in  the  north  after 
April  1  or  even  March  1,  sometimes. 

The  speculative  element  has  helped  to  make  the  cabbage  deal  dan- 
gerous. What  has  been  said  in  preceding  chapters  about  the  evils  of 
speculation  apply  to  the  cabbage  game  with  full  force.  But  it  would 
be  unfair  to  the  commodity  we  are  discussing  to  say  that  it  does  not 
offer  exceptional  possibilities  to  those  who  can  master  its  peculiarities. 
Some  men  study  cabbage  as  a  banker  studies  banking,  and  are  careful 
to  gauge  the  general  produce  outlook  before  they  go  strong  into  the 
game  of  speculating.  These  fellows  who  size  up  the  ground  most 
carefully  are  usually  the  traders  who  make  money  out  of  the  deal. 


M      « 

5  | 


11 

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n 

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CABBAGE  235 

When  they  see  that  conditions  do  not  warrant  high  prices  during  the 
fall  season  when  stocks  are  going  into  warehouses,  they  prefer  to  let 
the  other  fellows  have  the  whole  crop  if  they  feel  disposed  to  pay  the 
necessary  price. 

Many  a  dealer  with  a  warehouse  or  two  in  producing  districts  figures  he 
must  put  away  some  cabbage  to  take  care  of  his  trade,  but  it  is  a  qeustion 
if  he  is  not  taking  a  short  sighted  view  when  he  begins  investing  thousands 
of  dollars  in  cabbage  just  to  fill  his  warehouses,  and  by  doing  so  all 
but  empty  his  pocket  book,  and  perhaps  cripple  his  business  to  such 
an  extent  that  it  will  take  several  good  years  to  catch  up  where  he 
left  off.  Operating  warehouses  and  supplying  one's  trade  is  one  thing, 
but  doing  business  at  a  sure,  though  small  profit,  is  quite  another  thing. 
Too  many  fingers  have  been  burned  in  handling  cabbage  to  require 
any  further  argument. 

This  brings  us  to  the  point  of  considering  the  warehouses  as  a  factor 
in  the  winter  cabbage  deal.  Generally  these  houses  are  owned  and 
operated  by  private  parties.  Of  course,  there  are  times  when  they  are 
a  great  advantage  to  their  owners,  and  if  stock  could  always  be  bought 
in  the  fall  at  a  price  that  would  insure  a  profit  they  would  make  the 
cabbage  business  a  gold  mine.  But  things  are  not  always  ideal  in  buy- 
ing and  selling  cabbage.  This  much  is  true,  the  warehouses  have  had 
the  general  effect  of  making  the  cabbage  business  speculative.  Grow- 
ers see  dealers  make  some  long  profits  one  season  and  next  year  they 
take  the  position  that  they  must  have  more  money  for  their  stocks, 
arid  will  not  contract  their  fields  for  anything  like  a  reasonable  price. 
Often  they  force  the  market  up  and  get  caught  with  a  lot  of  cabbage 
which  has  to  sell  for  much  less  money  than  they  could  have  gotten 
had  they  taken  a  reasonable  price  and  sold  early. 

The  author  does  not  feel  called  upon  to  say  whether  warehouses 
are  best  for  every  car  lot  dealer.  This  is  a  question  that  every  operator 
must  decide  for  himself.  But  wherever  a  house  or  a  chain  of  houses, 
is  decided  upon  it  should  be  the  unvarying  rule  to  have  them  con- 
structed after  the  most  approved  plans  for  heating  and  ventilation. 
They  should  be  built  from  carefully  prepared  plans  and  should  be  on 
a  railroad  spur  or  side  track,  or  the  cost  of  loading  will  be  greatly  in- 
creased when  stock  has  to  be  taken  out  and  transferred  some  distance, 
and  maybe  in  zero  weather  at  that.  A  suitable  location  is  often  half 
the  battle  in  successfully  handling  a  warehouse. 

When  to  buy  and  when  to  sell  are  problems  every  cabbage  dealer 
would  give  a  lot  of  money  to  know  how  to  solve,  especially  at  certain 
critical  stages  of  the  game.  Obviously  the  best  time  to  buy  is  when 


236  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

prices  are  right.  But  that  gets  us  little  nearer  finding  what  is  the 
right  time  to  lay  in  a  supply  if  one  is  to  put  away  stocks. 

So  much  depends  upon  so  many  things  that  I  am  sure  no  hard  and 
fast  rule  can  be  laid  down  for  buying.  The  visible  supply,  the  gen- 
eral movement  and  the  business  conditions  generally  have  to  be  borne 
in  mind.  No  two  seasons  can  be  handled  just  alike,  although  the  ex- 
perience of  one  year  will  serve  to  help  a  sensible  man  to  a  proper 
conclusion  as  to  what  he  shall  do  in  some  other  season.  Some  old  deal- 
ers declare  $5  per  ton  for  Holland  stock  should  be  the  outside  price 
to  pay. 

When  to  sell  is  when  you  see  a  fair  profit.  That  is  elementary. 
Those  who  follow  after  Shylock  and  try  to  squeeze  out  the  last  penny 
from  a  head  of  cabbage,  will  get  stuck  sooner  or  later.  Maybe  they 
should  be. 

Handling  cabbage  for  a  dollar  or  two  a  ton  is  not  bad  business 
where  dealers  are  buying,  loading  and  shipping  car  lots  from  day  to 
day.  Sometimes  a  lucky  streak  will  develop  whereby  $3  or  $4  a  ton 
profit  comes  to  the  wise  trader  who  can  size  up  the  market  several 
days  or  weeks  ahead.  It  has  been  the  lot  of  some  dealers  once  in 
a  great  while  to  clean  up  long  profits  close  to  100%  on  their  invest- 
ments, but  this  can  hardly  be  expected  twice  in  a  lifetime  unless  some 
abnormal  factor  enters  into  the  game.  Like  every  other  branch  of 
the  produce  business  the  cabbage  deal  is  hurt  generally  when  everyone 
tries  to  overdo  a  good  thing. 

From  the  foregoing  we  might  raise  the  question:  Can  a  profit  be 
assured  to  cabbage  growers  and  dealers  every  year  by  co-operation  in 
holding  the  deal  on  conservative  lines  ?  I  would  hesitate  to  answer  this 
question  in  the  affirmative,  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  quite  clear  that 
a  little  horse  sense  among  the  cabbage  growers,  shippers  and  dealers 
would  help  wonderfully  in  saving  losses,  if  not  in  making  profits. 

If  growers  will  not  consent  to  a  general  understanding  the  dealers 
should  get  together  and  at  least  fix  a  limit  beyond  which  they  will  not 
go.  I  fancy  somebody  will  be  screaming  for  an  anti-trust  law  to  stop 
this  "restraint  of  trade/'  and  such  other  talk  as  comes  now  and  then 
from  certain  weak-kneed  "sisters"  who  cannot  bear  to  think  of  joining 
hands  even  for  mutual  protection.  I  make  this  suggestion  because  I 
do  not  think  a  trust  in  cabbage  is  either  possible  or  desirable.  What 
I  do  think  is  the  height  of  folly,  however,  is  for  a  lot  of  numskulls  to 
get  out  at  a  loading  station,  and  try  to  see  who  can  give  away  the  most 
money  and  get  the  least  for  it.  If  it  were  in  the  name  of  charity  I 
should  say  not  a  word,  but  when  it  is  done  under  the  guise  of  business 


CABBAGE  237 

it  is  comically  foolish.  Let  us  hope  the  money  is  more  wisely  invested 
by  the  saner  people  who  get  it. 

Now,  there  is  plenty  of  business  in  this  old  world  for  every  decent 
business  man,  I  believe.  Your  competitor  may  not  look  like  an  Apollo 
Belvidere  in  your  estimation,  but  he  is  in  the  deal  nevertheless.  Better 
work  with  him  as  far  as  you  can  instead  of  working  against  him  all 
the  time.  It  will  do  you  both  good  to  exchange  views  now  and  then. 
You  will  be  surprised  how  much  business  you  find  that  somebody  else 
is  doing  that  you  never  heard  or  dreamt  about  before. 

What  applies  to  the  dealers  is  also  true  of  the  growers.  Yet  it  seems 
hardly  worth  while  to  take  up  time  with  the  case  of  the  growers,  for 
they  usually  get  the  full  benefit  of  the  dealers'  coin  that  is  squandered 
so  often  trying  apparently  to  put  one  another  out  of  business. 

But  the  growers  ought  always  to  be  considered,  and  it  is  essential  for 
them  to  get  a  fair  return  on  their  investment  in  producing  a  crop  of 
cabbage  or  of  anything  else.  Taken  by  and  large  it  is  improbable  that 
a  subscription  fund  will  ever  be  necessary  for  any  needy  cabbage  grow- 
ers in  the  sections  where  winter  cabbage  is  grown. 

The  following  outburst  relative  to  the  peculiar  virtues  of  the  cabbage 
would  be  unworthy  of  our  notice  were  it  not  the  composition  is 
that  of  a  man  of  Racine  county  in  Wisconsin,  which  is  one  of  the  great- 
est cabbage  producing  sections  in  this  country.  Just  think  of  this 
assault  upon  an  innocent  head  of  cabbage  that  never  did  any  harm 
except  smell  as  nature  intended ! 

AN  ODE  TO  THE  CABBAGE 

Now,  dear  old   Pegasus,  deal  kindly,   I   pray, 
With  the  green  Neophyte  who  is  mounting,  today; 
Who  imagines  that  he  has  a  theme,  that  should  charm 
That  part  of  Creation  that  lives  on  the  farm. 

Many  poets  have  sung  of  the  lily,  so   fair, 
And  the  roses  and  posies,  both  common  and  rare. 
Of  the  ripe  barley-fields,  and  the  tall  tasseled  corn, 
And  of  their  sweet  breath,  that  on  breezes  are  borne. 

They  have  lauded  the  peony,  the  thyme,  and  the  rue, 
The  sunflower,  the  clover  and  the  lark-spur  so  blue, 
They  have  gone  into  ecstasies  over  the  oak 
And  all  the  bright  favorites  that  Springtime  awoke. 


238  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

But  where  among  poets,  either  early  or  late,, 
Have  you  run  across  one    who  has   trouble'd   his   pate, 
To  speak  for  the  cabbage — e'en  a  faint  word  of  praise — 
Altho'  it  is  setting  the  world  in  a  blaze. 

So  here's  to  the  cabbage  with  its  head,  round  and  green, 
With  its  rubicund  looks,  and  its  smile  so  serene, 
With  its   crisp  tender   heart,   and  the   perfume   it   yields, 
As  it  stands  on  its  one  sturdy  leg  in  the  fields. 

Sure — thou  are  not  of  that  ephemeral  train, 

That  wilts  in  the  sun  01*  a  shower  of  rain, 

Or  shows  the  white  feather,  with  the  first  bite  of   frost, 

And  drop  thy  leaves  quickly  as  tho'  all  were  lost. 

'Tis  true,  you  are  a  little  too  large,  we  must  say, 
To  make  a  real  nobby,  choice  buttonhole  bouquet, 
But  while  to  thy  size,  the  objection  holds  well, 
We  defy  thy  detractors  to  side-track  thy  smell. 


CHAPTER    XXX 

ONIONS 

From  a  commercial  standpoint  onions  present  some  really  curious 
aspects.  Probably  no  produce  commodity  fools  more  people  more  times 
if  followed  in  a  speculative  way  than  the  onion.  Being  a  hard  proposi- 
tion to  size  up  at  any  stage  of  the  game  so  far  as.  the  actual  supply 
goes,  we  are  also  puzzled  half  the  time  to  arrive  at  a  reasonably  safe 
guess  as  to  how  many  onions  the  nation  will  eat  within  a  given  period 
of  time. 

Then  again,  onions  defy  experts  when  it  comes  to  telling  how  they 
will  keep.  Too  often  we  have  heard  a  sad  story  about  some  speculator 
who  had  a  nice  bunch  of  stuff  in  a  good  warehouse  which  was  "as 
hard  as  a  hickory  nut"  when  put  away  that  went  to  the  bad  before  he 
knew  it,  and  thus  lost  what  gave  promise  of  a  nice  profit.  This  does 
not  always  happen  to  be  sure,  but  I  submit  it  has  occurred  often 
enough  to  warrant  my  saying  that  onions  are  bad  "black-legs"  to  gamble 
with.  When  there  is  a  heavy  shrinkage  in  a  big  stock  of  onions  the 
resultant  losses  may  be  almost  ruinous,  even  to  a  millionaire. 

Still,  by  a  careful  selection  of  the  best  varieties  of  domestic  stock, 
and  with  proper  handling  of  the  northern  grown  crop  there  is  generally  a 
fair  profit  in  the  onion  deal. 

Yellows,  reds  and  whites  are  produced  in  northern  territory  and  are 
used  in  the  order  named  so  far  as  quantity  is  concerned.  It  will  hardly 
be  necessary  to  say  for  the  benefit  of  the  trade  generally  where  our  com- 
mercial onion  supply  is  grown,  but  for  the  information  of  those  outside 
the  trade  I  might  say  that  a  half  dozen  states  grow  the  winter  onions 
used  for  pretty  nearly  the  whole  country. 

New  York,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Michigan,  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin  pro- 
duce practically  all  the  northern  onions  consumed  in  the  United  States. 
The  Pacific  Coast  is  supplied  mostly  by  California,  Oregon  and  Wash- 
ington. 

239 


240  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

Bermuda  onions  in  this  country  are  produced  mainly  in  Texas  and 
California.  These  are  either  the  white  or  the  yeiiow  crystal  wax.  Al- 
though capable  of  being  kept  in  storage  for  some  time,  they  are  usually 
pushed  into  consumption  and  used  up  shortly  after  they  are  put  on 
the  market  in  the  spring  and  early  summer. 

In  addition  to  the  onions  grown  in  the  United  States  we  usually  im- 
port quite  a  bit  of  genuine  Bermuda  stock  from  the  Bermuda  Islands, 
as  well  as  some  Denia  onions  from  Spain,  and  some  Egyptian  stock. 
These  are  higher  priced  onions  and  are  more  restricted  in  their  sale  for 
this  reason. 

With  respect  to  successful  onion  marketing  we  are  confronted  by  a 
number  of  important  considerations,  both  from  the  viewpoint  of  the 
commercial  grower  as  well  as  the  car  lot  shipper  and  jobber. 

The  first  injunction  I  would  give  every  person  pretending  to  grow 
or  ship  onions  is  to  study  the  market  outlook  every  season,  and  the 
daily  situation  carefully  when  stock  is  ready  to  move  or  is  actually 
moving.  Every  piece  of  information  and  every  divergent  view  should 
be  fully  considered.  The  deal  is  too  broad  and  too  intricate  for  any 
one  man  to  get  a  monopoly  on  ideas  relating  to  making  money  on 
onions. 

Those  who  have  had  experience  in  both  producing  and  distributing 
know  successful  marketing  is  more  difficult  than  producing  them.  I  do  not 
mean  to  underestimate  the  growing  end;  I  cannot  overestimate  the  sell- 
ing end.  To  market  onions  and  show  a  good  profit  it  is  first  necessary 
to  have  good  stock  properly  harvested  and  prepared  for  selling. 

As  a  general  rule  Bermudas  are  put  up  in  wooden  crates  made  of 
slats  and  held  together  by  a  large  wire  spindle  at  the  corners  to  fasten 
the  slats  one  on  another,  and  which  makes  an  elegant  package,  for 
perfect  ventilation  is  secured,  and  onions  can  easily  stand  ventilation 
as  they  sometimes  heat  quickly  and  are  badly  injured  if  not  carefully 
handled.  While  these  slat  crates  perhaps  come  a  little  high  in  price, 
experience  seems  to  have  shown  conclusively  that  their  use  is  a  good 
investment,  for  it  makes  the  stock  show  up  to  better  advantage  and 
command  a  higher  price. 

Northern  stock  is  generally  handled  in  bulk  or  in  sacks  containing 
a  bushel  or  a  bushel  and  a  half.  Some  trade  can  use  bulk  better  than 
sacks  and  vice  versa.  Naturally,  therefore,  it  is  a  matter  of  giving 
your  trade  what  is  wanted.  In  this  connection  I  will  say,  however,  that 
I  believe  it  would  be  a  good  idea  to  put  up  the  best  stock  in  crates 
and  build  up  a  trade  for  that  style  of  package.  What  has  been  done 
in  handling  Bermuda  onions  furnishes  a  good  basis  for  an  opinion 


ONIONS  241 

as  to  what  could  be  done  with  our  best  northern  grown  stock  if  the 
onions  are  selected  and  handled  as  they  should  be. 

In  the  hope  I  may  offer  an  idea  or  two  that  may  help  someone  I 
desire  to  say  a  few  things  about  the  actual  handling  or  the  market- 
ing end,  and  point  out  a  few  pitfalls  and  quicksands  that  I  know  have 
given  trouble  and  made  losses  for  not  a  few. 

First,  I  wish  I  could  impress  upon  everyone  that  it  is  essential  for 
all  onions  to  be  thoroughly  dried  out  before  packing  for  shipment  or  be- 
fore putting  into  storage.  A  cool,  dry  place  is  best  to  keep  them,  and  a 
large  shed  is  bully  for  spreading  them  out  after  hauling  in  from  the  fields 
where  they  have  lain  temporarily  after  being  pulled,  so  some  of  the 
water  in  them  will  have  a  chance  to  evaporate.  If  onions  are  well  cured, 
sound  and  dry,  they  can  be  kept  longer  and  sold  for  much  better  prices 
than  if  handled  improperly  and  are  put  away  in  careless  shape.  In 
no  line  of  produce  do  we  see  a  better  example  of  what  can  be  done  in 
the  way  of  securing  an  extra  profit  by  using  a  bit  of  horse  sense  and 
"elbow  grease"  than  in  taking  care  of  onions  and  putting  them  up 
properly. 

Another  thought  that  presents  itself  to  me  is  the  matter  of  frozen 
onions,  which  often  have  to  be  dealt  with  in  the  winter.  Some  old  men 
in  the  produce  business,  I  have  found,  do  not  seem  to  know  that  if 
onions  are  properly  handled  the  frost  can  be  taken  out,  and  that  the  stock 
is  practically  as  good  as  ever.  But  frosted  stock  must  have  immediate 
attention.  If  spread  out  in  a  cool  room  and  left  for  a  day  or  two 
they  will  usually  come  around  all  right.  Even  when  frosted  as  hard 
as  a  rock  they  can  be  thawed  out  gradually  and  nearly  always  sold 
for  the  full  market  price.  Of  course,  freezing  does  not  do  an  onion 
any  good  and  is  to  be  avoided  when  possible,  and  I  only  refer  to  the 
matter  of  handling  frosted  stock  because  I  have  known  of  several  com- 
ical cases  where  some  of  our  good  jobbers  in  different  markets  have 
thrown  up  their  hands  in  holy  horror  when  they  found  some  onions 
that  had  been  frozen  mixed  in  a  car  of  good  stock. 

While  we  are  considering  marketing  phases  I  would  be  glad  if  I 
could  answer  the  question  I  have  been  asked  so  often  "What  is  the 
best  plan  for  the  commercial  grower  to  follow  in  marketing  so  as  to  insure 
the  most  money?"  So  far  as  the  Texas  and  California  Bermudas  are 
concerned  it  seems  that  the  pooling  into  an  association  is  the  best  plan, 
although  some  growers  prefer  to  do  their  own  selling,  and  seem  to  get 
very  satisfactory  results  that  way. 

In  the  case  of  northern  onions,  the  seal  of  experience  is  clearly  in 
favor  of  the  individual  grower  making  his  own  plans,  selling  to  local 


242  PRODUCE   MARKETS   AND   MARKETING 

buyers  or  shipping  in  car  lots  to  commission  houses.  If  he  prefers  to 
sell  f.  o.  b.  he  generally  finds  someone  at  his  railroad  station  who  will 
buy  even  if  he  cannot  sell  them  in  the  field  as  is  often  the  case,  and 
sometimes  before  harvesting.  Now  and  then  a  large  grower  who  can 
load  straight  cars  prefers  to  load  and  ship  to  some  market,  having 
made  a  sale  before  shipping  or  turning  over  to  someone  to  have  the  car 
sold  for  his  account. 

Perhaps  the  pool  will  never  make  much  headway  in  the  northern 
onion  deal.  Growers  have  plenty  of  time  and  are  not  pressed  to  dis- 
pose of  their  holdings  as  is  the  case  of  the  grower  of  Bermuda  onions 
in  the  south  who  must  generally  make  hay  when  the  sun  shines  and  sell 
his  onions  while  he  may.  It  is  a  matter  simply  that  must  be  regulated 
by  conditions.  Those  who  have  succeeded  by  following  after  some  one 
plan  should  continue  in  the  same  way  until  there  is  a  good  reason 
to  change.  But  it  is  a  question  that  must  be  thought  out  carefully. 

Owing  to  the  tremendous  proportions  the  onion  set  business  has  as- 
sumed I  would  like  to  go  into  a  discussion  of  some  of  its  phases  but 
cannot  do  more  than  refer  briefly  to  some  points  that  have  suggested 
themselves  to  me  from  time  to  time. 

Practically  the  entire  supply  of  onion  sets  used  in  this  country  are 
grown  in  Illinois,  Kentucky  and  Ohio.  Some  other  localities,  of  course, 
grow  some  sets,  but  not  in  such  quantities  as  the  states  just  mentioned. 
It  will  no  doubt  seem  peculiar  to  some  people  who  read  this  to  find  that 
there  are  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  people  engaged  in  the  growing  of 
sets  alone.  When  we  come  to  consider  the  fact  that  they  are  handled 
in  car  loads,  and  shipped  into  every  part  of  the  country  we  can  easily 
see  that  the  onion  set  industry  is  no  small  one  within  itself.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  there  are  a  number  of  large  firms  whose  chief  business 
the  year  around  is  handling  sets.  They  contract  them  in  the  fields, 
and  even  before  the  crop  is  planted  they  make  sales  for  future  delivery 
to  their  customers,  contingent  upon  the  production  of  the  crop,  of 
course. 

And  there  are  some  peculiar  things  about  these  sets  which  I  am 
tempted  to  go  into  and  would  were  it  not  that  we  are  dealing  mostly 
with  marketing  matters.  But  since  the  writer  has  found  so  many  people 
who  had  no  notion  of  the  difference  between  a  set  and  an  onion  it  may 
not  be  out  of  place  to  say  that  a  set  is  merely  a  little  onion,  a  form 
of  seed,  which  will  produce  a  stalk  rather  than  a  bulb  when  planted. 
The  set  must  not  be  over  a  half  inch  in  diameter,  and  from  that  size 
down  is  used  to  grow  the  garden  variety  to  be  used  green  for  the  table. 
When  sets  are  run  over  a  screen  the  larger  sizes  are  taken  out  to  be 
used  for  pickling  usually. 


ONIONS  243 

Commercial  onions  are  grown  generally  from  genuine  onion  seed,  the 
domestic  kind  coming  mostly  from  California,  and  the  Berdumas  from 
the  Bermuda  Islands.  But  it  is  another  peculiar  thing  that  if  the  seeds 
are  planted  very  thick  they  grow  up  into  a  slender  stalk  and  bear  more 
seeds  in  a  cluster  on  top,  whereas  if  given  1  or  5  inches  between  each 
hill  there  will  be  but  little  top  and  the  bulb  forms  at  the  root  which 
results  in  the  round  onion. 

Before  ending  this  chapter  I  want  to  say  a  word  about  disinfectants. 
We  have  become  so  accustomed  to  reading  the  jokes  we  find  in  the  papers 
about  the  smell  of  onions  that  I  only  wish  somebody  would  develop  an 
odorless  onion.  But  then  it  would  not  be  an  onion.  Since  we  apparently 
cannot  separate  an  onion  from  its  smell  I  can  only  hope  some  remedy 
can  be  found  to  counteract  the  unpleasant  odor  that  people  have  to  en- 
dure when  coming  into  contact  with  a  person  who  is  fond  of  this  odiferous 
globule,  and  has  indulged  his  appetite  fully.  It  is  simply  horrible  unless 
we  go  and  do  likewise.  Personally  the  author  is  fond  of  all  kinds  of 
onions,  and  only  regrets  that  because  of  the  smell  he  eats  only  a  small 
part  of  what  he  would  like. 

He  will  be  a  real  benefactor  to  the  whole  human  race,  and  especially 
so  to  onion  growers  and  dealers  who  will  by  cross  breeding  or  otherwise 
develop  a  new  strain  of  onion  or  garlic  that  will  give  us  the  effect  with- 
out the  smell.  It  would  result  in  making  millions  of  people  eat  onions 
often  and  freely  who  now  taste  sparingly  arid  infrequently  for  fear  of 
being  ostracised  by  all  civilized  people  who  are  cursed  with  a  delicate 
olfactory  nerve. 


CHAPTER    XXXI 

MELONS 

In  treating  this  subject  it  will  hardly  be  worth  while  to  more  than 
make  a  cursory  survey  of  the  melon  field  so  far  as  our  purposes  are  con- 
cerned, and  advance  a  few  suggestions  with  reference  to  the  commercial 
aspect  of  melons. 

Naturally  the  subject  falls  under  two  subdivisions, — watermelons  and 
cantaloupes,  as  these  are  mainly  the  kinds  that  interest  the  trade  and  a 
majority  of  the  readers  of  this  work.  While  data  of  a  historic  nature 
would  make  this  chapter  too  long  if  indulged  in  as  much  as  the  author 
would  like,  and  as  many  readers  would  perhaps  appreciate,  still  some 
slight  notice  should  be  taken  in  passing  of  the  two  kinds  of  melons  we 
have  under  consideration. 

The  watermelon  is  a  hot  weather  plant  that  is  said  to  have  originated 
in  Asia  Minor,  and  has  been  cultivated  for  centuries  in  various  countries. 
It  is  true  the  melon  they  grow  is  not  produced  in  just  the  same  way  as 
ours,  but  they  are  said  to  be  the  same  in  most  essential  features.  One 
variety  is  grown  underground,  that  is,  the  melons  form  on  the  vine  like 
a  potato.  Travelers  say  these  melons  are  delicious  and  their  juice  is 
highly  prized  as  a  drink.  No  doubt  the  story  will  seem  strange  to  many 
people  in  the  trade  who  have  been  accustomed  to  the  melons  grown  in  the 
United  States,  and  will  think  it  strange  that  a  similar  melon,  perhaps  not 
quite  so  large,  can  actually  be  grown  under  the  soil  as  people  in  parts  of 
Asia  Minor  are  said  to  produce  them.  It  is  further  stated  that  pigeon 
manure  is  used  almost  exclusively  where  it  can  be  obtained  to  grow  the 
finest  kinds  of  old  world  melons.  This  is  merely  referred  to  as  a  hint  to 
those  interested  in  turning  out  a  better  melon  in  this  country,  and  where 
experience  shows  fertilizer  of  this  kind  to  be  excellent  for  the  purpose. 

Of  the  leading  varieties  of  watermelons  in  this  country  we  have  the 
following  which  are  known  as  the  best  commercial  kinds:  Kolb  Gems, 
Tom  Watsons,  Triumphs,  Sweethearts,  Monte  Christos,  Alabama 

244 


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1 


MELONS  245 

Sweets,  Bradfords,  Rattlesnakes  and  Icebergs.  It  is  hard  to  say  which 
is  the  "best"  melon  for  it  depends  on  the  market  and  the  season  to  a 
large  extent.  Taken  as  an  all  around  melon  perhaps  the  Kolb  Gem 
would  be  voted  a  favorite  by  a  majority  of  those  who  grow,  ship  and 
handle  melons,  though  its  eating  qualities  cannot  be  compared  to  some 
others.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  this  melon  has  a  thick  rind  it  can  stand 
more  jolting  and  jostling  than  some  of  the  other  more  fragile  kinds 
that  seem  literally  to  go  to  pieces  where  a  Kolb  will  stand  up  and  sell 
at  a  fair  price.  For  any  melon  to  be  worth  while  from  a  commercial 
point  of  view  it  must  bear  shipping  well. 

But  where  they  can  be  marketed  without  being  injured  in  transit  it 
seems  to  the  writer  that  there  are  other  varieties  that  have  many  points 
in  their  favor,  such  as  the  Tom  Watson,  Triumph,  Sweetheart,  Monte 
Christo,  Alabama  Sweet  and  Rattlesnake. 

And  while  we  are  on  the  subject  of  transportation  it  may  not  be  out  of 
place  to  say  that  there  is  no  commodity  in  the  produce  field  that  is 
more  deserving  of  attention  so  far  as  lower  and  more  equitable  freight 
rates  are  concerned  than  watermelons.  It  is  quite  true  they  are  highly 
perishable  and  when  a  car  is  delayed  or  damaged  before  reaching  a 
market,  and  is  thrown  upon  the  hands  of  the  railroads  to  sell  for  freight 
charges  it  is  almost  a  certainty  that  it  is  a  dead  loss,  for  there  is  noth- 
ing quite  so  worthless  to  a  produce  man  than  a  car  of  bum  watermelons, 
especially  when  the  market  is  overstocked,  and  that  is  usually  when 
most  of  the  bad  cars  seem  to  turn  up  to  be  turned  down. 

Now,  if  a  dealer  in  the  trade  who  knows  all  the  crooks  and  turns  in 
selling  melons  cannot  do  anything  with  them,  so  much  the  more  are  the 
railroads  powerless  to  recoup  themselves  and  get  anything  for  melons 
that  the  consignor  don't  want  and  the  consignee  won't  have.  But  it 
frequently  happens  that  the  excessive  freight  charges  are  the  main  cause 
for  demoralized  markets  as  the  price  for  melons  is  so  high  that  they  meet 
a  slow  sale  and  keep  piling  up  with  the  result  of  heavy  losses  often  for 
those  who  have  bought  them,  as  melons  must  be  sold  when  they  come  on 
the  market  and  cannot  be  held  indefinitely  awaiting  a  more  favorable 
turn  in  market  conditions. 

Why  it  is  that  lower  rates  cannot  be  secured  on  watermelons  is  hard 
to  see,  because  the  railroads  would  get  to  haul  a  great  many  more  cars 
as  they  would  be  cheaper  to  the  consumer  and  many  more  slices  and 
halves  as  well  as  whole  melons  would  be  used  if  the  average  price  were 
shaded  a  bit.  Based  on  the  value  of  tlu-  tonnage  the  writer  does  not 
hesitate  to  say  it  is  impossible,  with  maybe  one  or  two  exceptions,  to  find 
a  commodity  whose  market  value  is  so  small  and  where  such  a  heavy 


246  PRODUCE   MARKETS   AND   MARKETING 

tariff  is  demanded  by  the  railroads  as  applies  to  watermelons.  The  bulk 
of  the  melon  is  rind  and  is  worth  nothing,  yet  it  has  to  pay  as  high  or 
even  a  higher  rate  than  many  other  produce  commodities  which  are  valu- 
able even  to.  the  box  or  package  in  which  they  are  shipped. 

But  to  the  writer's  mind  it  has  seemed  that  if  the  railroad  people 
would  stop  and  think  how  the  traffic  in  watermelons  would  be  almost 
doubled  if  the  freight  rates  were  more  reasonable,  and  that  they  would 
get  a  substantial  increase  in  their  total  revenues  by  reason  of  a  lower  rate 
on  melons,  they  would  be  disposed  to  make  some  concessions  that  would 
work  a  triple  blessing  to  the  grower,  shipper  and  dealer  who  could  enjoy 
a  more  steady  market  during  the  melon  season  and  would  also  fit  in 
nicely  to  fill  the  dull  summer  gap  in  the  tonnage  of  some  of  the  more 
important  lines  that  haul  most  of  the  melons. 

Looked  at  from  any  standpoint  there  is  a  lot  of  food  for  thought  in 
this  question  of  lower  rates  on  watermelons  and  it  seems  if  the  trade  in- 
terested should  make  a  concerted  effort  to  get  a  more  reasonable  rate, 
at  least  from  leading  producing  districts  to  the  larger  markets  where 
most  of  the  melons  are  consumed,  and  where  a  great  many  more  could 
be  taken  if  they  could  be  run  out  to  the  public  at  a  slightly  lower 
average  price.  This  would  greatly  simplify  the  problem  of  uncertain  mar- 
kets every  season. 

As  in  the  past  watermelons  will  continue  to  be  produced  all  over  the 
Southern  states  in  sufficient  quantity  to  supply  the  country  during  the 
summer,  and  as  the  season  advances  sections  farther  north  as  high  as 
latitudes  35  to  40  degrees  come  in  with  liberal  crops  for  the  late  sum- 
mer and  early  fall  trade  as  long  as  there  is  a  demand  for  melons  in  the 
central  states.  On  the  Pacific  coast  watermelons  are  grown  in  abundance 
as  far  north  as  Washington  and  Oregon  and  these  are  used  largely  to 
supply  the  northwestern  and  coast  trade. 

Shippers  generally  could  greatly  improve  the  melon  trade  by  devoting 
more  care  to  loading  and  trying  to  get  a  better  average  weight  in  the 
melons  they  ship.  Too  often  cars  are  loaded  carelessly  and  billed  out 
to  some  dealer  or  buyer  and  the  information  given,  if  any,  is  too  meagre 
for  making  a  sale  as  promptly  as  would  be  the  case  if  the  size  and 
number  of  the  melons  had  been  definitely  known  in  time.  And  when  a 
car  is  loaded  with  25  or  30  pound  average  the  melons  should  weigh 
whatever  average  is  represented. 

For  the  convenience  of  the  trade  the  following  table  will  enable  ship- 
pers and  dealers  to  get  at  the  average  from  the  count,  and  generally 
speaking,  it  will  be  found  to  apply  to  shipments  from  all  sections  and 
in  all  seasons: 


t  £ '      —  *j*  ;  ;'  ^  *: 

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MELONS  247 

Melons  running  from  1,300  to  1,400  count  will  average  20  pounds, 
from  1,100  to  1,200  count  21  pounds,  1,100  count  25  pounds,  1,000  count 
30  pounds,  900  count  35  pounds  and  800  count  10  pounds.  By  keeping 
this  in  mind  dealers  can  tell  readily  about  what  melons  they  will  get 
in  a  car  of  a  certain  average. 

On  the  subject  of  cantaloupes  there  are  many  observations  that  might 
be  set  down,  but  the  author  believes  only  a  few  general  remarks  will  be 
worth  while. 

Until  a  few  years  ago,  as  time  goes,  the  cantaloupe  was  produced  only 
on  a  limited  scale  by  farmers  and  gardeners  for  home  or  local  use,  but 
lately  we  have  seen  the  acreage  increase  a  thousand  fold  in  several  parts 
of  the  country.  In  California,  Colorado,  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  Texas, 
Oklahoma,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Tennessee,  Georgia  and  Florida,  as  well  as 
in  several  sections  in  the  Eastern  states,  we  find  many  farms  and  ranches 
devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  this  melon,  and  upon  the  whole  the  industry 
has  been  a  highly  profitable  one.  although  not  every  season  has  made 
money  for  the  growers. 

Bad  weather,  bad  markets  and  bad  methods  have  often  caused  growers 
to  swear  off  only  to  see  them  "try  their  luck"  again  the  next  season, 
for  those  who  get  a  taste  of  the  easy  money  or  hear  of  the  success  of 
others  producing  melons  are  usually  sure  to  keep  it  up  until  they  make  a 
killing  or  go  broke.  It  is  altogether  a  hazardous  speculation,  this  can- 
taloupe business.  Frequently  dealers  and  commission  men  who  have 
made  some  long  advances  and  longer  promises  on  the  strength  of  past 
performances  and  the  hope  of  future  successes,  find  themselves  in  trouble 
when  the  time  comes  to  market  the  melons  contracted,  and  quite  naturally 
they  frequently  throw  up  their  hands  as  well  as  their  contracts  when 
they  see  a  loss  staring  them  in  the  face. 

It  all  depends  on  what  the  season  brings  forth  if  the  dealer  can  get 
his  money  back  for  the  usual  advances  to  the  growers,  as  well  as  trans- 
portation charges  and  his  general  operating  expenses  in  connection  with 
handling  the  melons.  Of  course,  if  the  dealers  can  not  make  anything, 
the  growers  can  not.  But  unfortunately  the  reverse  of  this  does  not 
always  hold  true,  for  cantaloupe  growers  have. been  panhandled  along 
with  other  growers  from  time  to  time.  However,  it  must  be  said  most 
of  those  wrho  have  attained  fame  in  the  Western  melon  realm  and  have 
stuck  to  the  game  have  had  to  deal  fairly  for  two  reasons:  They  have 
generally  made  money  and  could  afford  to  be  honest,  and  because  com- 
pe  rtion  would  not  permit  anything  too  rank  in  the  way  of  figuring  pools 
of  idte  years.  There  are  some  exceptions  to  this  statement,  but  it  gen- 
ei  holds  good.  The  fact  that  growers  in  the  mainjiave  made  money 
bears  ut  the  correctness  of  mv  statement. 


248  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

Cantaloupe  growers  are  unwise  to  contract  with  any  but  a  firm  of 
known  financial  ability  and  with  some  experience  in  selling  and  dis- 
tributing melons.  If  they  do  their  full  duty  for  a  10%  commission  it 
makes  little  difference  if  they  plank  down  an  advance  of  50  cents  or  75 
cents  at  loading  station  or  not.  But  the  system  of  making  some  advance 
to  the  growers  in  the  far  west  where  cantaloupes  are  grown  under  irri- 
gation seems  to  have  become  pretty  well  fixed  and  will  likely  be  continued 
in  the  future. 

Where  rain  is  liable  to  occur  during  the  latter  stage  of  a  cantaloupe's 
growth  the  industry  is  always  a  doubtful  proposition,  for  a  hard  rain 
can  do  untold  damage  if  it  comes  at  the  wrong  time.  Undoubtedly  more 
money  has  been  lost  to  growers  and  dealers  trying  to  call  the  turn  on 
the  weather,  as  applying  to  cantaloupes  as  well  as  other  things,  than 
from  any  other  one  cause.  Those  who  have  had  experience  either  in 
growing  or  marketing  know  this  to  be  absolutely  true. 

The  system  of  grading  and  packing  long  ago  adopted  in  the  Rocky 
Ford,  Colorado  section  needs  little  comment  and  no  criticism  if  properly 
enforced,  as  time  has  proved  it  to  be  the  best.  Separating  the  melons 
into  "standards,"  or  45  to  the  crate,  or  "ponies,"  with  54  to  the  crate, 
is  about  as  good  an  arrangement  as  could  be  wished. 

One  thing,  however,  needs  to  be  said  about  packing,  and  that  is  more 
care  should  be  taken  to  see  that  melons  are  not  too  green,  or  too  ripe 
for  picking.  Only  a  person  of  experience  can  tell  when  a  melon  is 
near  enough  or  too  ripe  to  be  gathered  and  shipped,  and  it  goes  without 
saying  that  only  those  of  some  experience  or  instruction  from  some 
one  who  knows  should  try  to  perform  or  superintend  the  harvesting  and 
packing  of  these  melons.  Only  careful  study  and  many  experiments 
with  previous  shipments  will  enable  a  man  to  know  with  reasonable 
certainty  what  the  condition  of  a  given  crate  or  car  of  these  melons  will 
be  when  they  reach  their  destination,  if  picked  in  California  or  else- 
where when  two-thirds  ripe  or  just  ripe,  and  loaded  into  a  refrigerator 
car  for  the  eastern  markets. 

The  fact  that  melons  do  not  always  "carry"  the  same  and  that  trans- 
portation is  frequently  uncertain  and  tardy  also  contribute  to  the  diffi- 
culty that  those  interested  in  the  business  have  to  contend  with.  It 
is,  therefore,  a  matter  of  paying  close  attention  to  every  development 
and  keeping  in  daily  touch  with  the  markets,  the  weather,  the  railroads 
or  express  people,  and  lastly,  the  melons  themselves  in  order  to  have 
even  a  fair  chance  of  not  making  a  mess  of  what  might  otherwise  be  a 
good  deal.  Year  after  year  we  hear  of  some  dealer  in  some  market, 
or  the  growers  of  a  certain  locality,  who  have  "got  in  bad"  on  their 
melon  deal  because  of  carelessness  in  one  way  or  another. 


MELONS  249 

"If  it  were  not  for  thus  and  so  we  would  have  a  great  season"  is  the 
usual  complaint.  Fully  nine  times  out  of  ten  this  "thus  and  so"  could 
have  been  avoided  in  part  if  not  entirely  by  thorough  study  and  careful 
planning  in  time  to  avoid  the  trouble.  Of  course,  the  weather  has  to 
be  taken  as  it  comes,  and  that  one  big  difficulty,  we  must  admit,  can 
upset  all  the  perfection  of  marketing  plans  one  can  devise.  But  aside 
from  the  weather  we  usually  see  better  business  and  with  more  profit  and 
satisfaction  where  people  stick  to  the  job  from  the  beginning  to  the  end, 
and  this  means  for  the  grower  or  shipper  to  not  leave  too  much  for  the 
man  who  has  the  selling  of  the  melons  to  look  after.  He  has  his  hands 
full  to  attend  to  the  selling  end  if  he  does  it  well,  and  it  can  not  be 
expected  of  him  to  take  care  of  what  someone  else  should  attend  to. 

It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  say  more  than  a  word  about  the  shipping 
end  of  the  business,  but  it  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  caution  those 
who  have  to  attend  to  loading  and  shipping  to  see  that  all  cars  in  which 
melons  are  to  be  put  should  be  iced  and  cooled  properly  before  the 
melons  are  loaded.  Of  course,  all  the  heat  or  some  of  it  should  be 
allowed  to  cool  out  of  the  melons  themselves  while  under  the  sheds,  or 
in  precoolers  when  available,  before  the  crates  are  put  into  the  cars. 
It  is  unfortunate  that  more  precooling  has  not  been  done.  Again,  every 
car  should  be  re-iced  in  transit  as  often  as  needed  to  insure  contents 
reaching  destination  in  good  shape.  Many  cars  of  melons  are  damaged 
every  year  by  failure  to  observe  carefully  these  details. 

In  conclusion,  it  occurs  to  the  author  that  the  subject  of  melon  seeds 
deserves  a  few  suggestions  for  the  general  welfare  and  progress  of  both 
watermelon  and  cantaloupe  growing. 

No  melon  seeds  of  any  kind  are  dependable  unless  you  save  them 
yourself  or  get  them  from  some  one  who  knows  what  he  is  selling  you. 
It  seems  that  growers  will  never  realize  the  importance  of  being  careful 
in  the  selection  of  the  proper  strains  of  melon  seeds  they  buy  from 
year  to  year. 

Those  interested  should  see  to  it  that  the  junk  of  every  Tom,  Dick 
and  Harry  be  let  alone,  no  matter  how  cheap  they  are  offered,  and  use 
good  horse  sense  and  pay  a  little  more  if  necessary  to  procure  the  kind 
you  can  be  sure  will  not  "come  up"  wrong. 

It  hardly  seems  worth  while  to  add  that  after  a  nice  lot  of  melons 
are  ready  to  market  it  is  a  good  idea  for  growers  and  dealers  to  make 
sure  of  saving  enough  seed  from  good  specimens  to  supply  their  next 
season's  needs. 


CHAPTER    XXXII 

CITRUS  FRUITS 

The  citrus  fruits  family,  of  which  the  orange  is  the  most  important 
commercial  variety,  had  its  origin  in  Indo-China  where  it  is  indigenous, 
and  today  India  in  her  Citra  orange  is  credited  with  producing  some 
of  the  finest  citrus  fruit  to  be  found  in  the  world.  Risso  and  Poitcan, 
two  of  the  .  greatest  authorities  on  citrus  fruits,  have  described  some 
eighty  varieties  of  oranges,  differing  chiefly  in  external  shape,  size  and 
flavor.  Practically  all  of  them  may  be  traced  either  to  the  sweet  or 
China,  and  the  bitter  or  Bragrade  orange. 

The  evolution  of  the  orange  from  its  wild  state  to  the  different  well, 
defined  varieties  with  which  we  are  familiar  today  possesses  some  unique 
horticultural  features,  and  the  history  of  the  diffusion  of  the  orange  is 
interwoven  with  the  romantic  expeditions  which  have  resulted  in  the 
spread  of  civilization  since  the  time  when  the  first  bands  of  Ayrian 
marauders  turned  their  faces  westward  and  spread  over  Europe,  down  to 
the  time  of  the  Spanish  explorations  which  resulted  in  the  discovery  and 
settling  of  the  new  world. 

No  definite  date  can  be  fixed  when  the  orange  was  introduced  into 
southern  Europe,  although  it  is  believed  that  the  sweet  orange  was  prob- 
ably brought  into  Portugal  about  1547,  and  was  soon  thereafter  carried 
into  the  Azores,  where  the  St.  Michael  orange  was  developed.  Some 
writers  claim  that  before  this  time,  probably  in  the  eleventh  century, 
the  orange  plant  was  introduced  into  Italy,  Sicily  and  Spain  by  Medi- 
terranean traders  who  brought  the  plant  from  Arabia  and  Syria.  After 
all,  it  is  pure  conjecture  as  to  what  date  oranges  were  first  grown  in 
Europe,  and  it  is  of  little  importance  for  our  purposes  when  it  was 
introduced,  although  it  is  well  enough  to  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  the 
orange  came  to  us  over  this  route. 

Of  far  more  importance  to  the  fruit  men  today  is  the  fact  that  oranges 
were  brought  to  America  in  the  sixteenth  century  by  Spanish  explorers 

250 


CITRUS  FRUITS  251 

who  made  sporadic  attempts  to  produce  this  fruit  in  Florida  and  Mexico 
where  there  are  scattering  groves  of  trees  today  bearing  mute  testimony 
to  the  fact  that  the  spirit  of  adventure  and  the  greed  for  gold  are,  per- 
haps, a  mixed  blessing  to-  mankind  after  all. 

Despite  the  fact  that  most  authorities  agree  that  the  Spaniards  are 
responsible  for  the  orange  in  America,  some  writers  contend  that  a 
species  of  wild  orange  is  indigenous  within  a  limited  area  bounded  by 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Certain  it  is  that  wild  oranges  are  found  scattered 
all  along  in  our  southern  states,  but  the  writer  knows  of  no  reason  which 
would  offset  the  claim  that  these  trees  are  an  outgrowth  of  the  early 
plantings  above  referred  to. 

So  far  investigations  by  different  writers  seem  to  show  that  Bernal 
Bias  del  Castillo  planted  the  first  orange  trees  in  Mexico  when  he  ac- 
companied Cortez  on  his  tour  of  pillage  and  plunder  in  the  land  of  the 
Aztecs.  But  little  effort  was  made  at  cultivating  oranges  in  Mexico, 
and  the  first  results  at  cultivation  in  this  country  worthy  of  mention  are 
recorded  in  the  early  history  of  Florida  and  Louisiana,  and  shortly 
thereafter  among  the  groves  in  southern  California. 

There  were  numerous  plantings  of  the  wild  or  bitter  orange  in  the 
beginning  and  considerable  quantities  of  this  fruit  were  grown  by  the 
Spanish  colonists  shortly  after  their  settlements  were  first  made.  Prac- 
tically the  entire  state  of  Florida  was  well  adapted  to  orange  growing, 
and  wherever  a  settlement  or  trading  post  was  established  trees  were 
planted;  eventually  orchards  were  cultivated  in  a  systematic  way  and 
the  business  has  assumed  enormous  proportions  reaching  an  average 
output  of  about  2,000,000  to  3,000,000  boxes  in  recent  years. 

With  respect  to  the  introduction  of  oranges  into  California  little  is 
known  except  that  the  Franciscan  monks  perhaps  started  the  first  groves 
in  1796  when  they  founded  a  number  of  missions  in  the  section  of 
country  that  is  now  largely  included  in  the  state  of  California.  They 
were  interested  primarily  in  the  conversion  of  savage  Indian  tribes  to 
Christianity,  yet  they  were  not  unmindful  of  their  material  interests 
and  quite  naturally  they  were  quick  to  foresee  the  commercial  value  of 
the  orange. 

Of  the  twenty-one  missions  established  practically  every  one  had  its 
gardens  and  orchards  which  usually  consisted  of  only  a  few  acres.  It 
seems  that  but  little  effort  was  made  to  improve  the  quality  of  the  fruit 
until  the  extensive  orchards  were  begun  about  the  San  Gabriel  mission 
in  Los  Angeles  county.  These  orchards  were  supposed  to  have  been 
set  in  1804  by  one  Father  Thomas  Sanchez.  The  records  of  this  mis- 
sion for  that  period  do  not  show  the  extent  of  the  orchards,  but  ac- 


252      PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

cording  to  later  inventories  about  1831  when  the  secularization  of  the 
missions  was  undertaken  San  Gabriel  reported  233  fruit  trees  upon 
which  no  valuation  was  placed. 

About  this  time  there  was  a  record  made  of  an  orchard  being  planted 
for  home  use  by  Los  Vignes  at  Los  Angeles.  Other  orchards  were 
planted  shortly  thereafter  by  Manual  Requena,  and  in  184-1  Wm.  Wolf- 
skill  had  what  was  then  considered  an  enormous  orchard  of  two  acres 
which  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  first  commercial  orange  orchard  in 
the  state  of  California.  By  1853  quite  a  number  of  other  groves  had 
been  started.  In  1857  L.  VanLuven  is  credited  with  beginning  some 
orchards  from  seedlings  at  old  San  Bernardino,,  and  also  planting  about 
forty-five  trees  in  the  same  year  which  were  obtained  from  Los  Angeles. 
At  Crafton  a  few  hundred  trees  were  set  in  1865.  Riverside,  57  miles 
east  of  Los  Angeles,  grew  the  first  extensive  orchards  from  seeds  which 
were  planted  in  1870  and  were  reset  in  1872-73.  There  is  a  tradition 
about  two  old  orange  trees  growing  at  this  time  in  the  El  Cajon  Valley, 
but  there  is  no  authentic  data  to  back  up  the  claim. 

The  beginning  in  the  northern  sections  is  traced  to  some  seed  planted 
about  Sacramento  in  1855  and  transplanted  in  1859  in  Butte  county 
where  some  of  the  trees  are  still  growing.  From  this  time  on  the 
spread  is  reported  to  have  been  general,  and  by  1862  the  state  records 
show  there  were  about  25,000  citrus  trees  in  California  located  mainly 
in  the  vicinity  of  Los  Angeles.  In  1873  when  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  was  opened  for  traffic  there  was  quite  a  boost  given  to  the  in- 
dustry because  of  increased  shipping  facilities,  and  later  the  opening 
of  the  Santa  Fe  and  other  railroad  lines  resulted  in  a  wonderful  spread 
of  the  industry  until  today  something  like  30,000  cars  represent  the 
enormous  annual  output  from  California. 

In  this  country  the  Washington  navel  is  of  far  greater  commercial 
importance  than  any  other  variety,  being  grown  extensively  both  in 
California  and  Florida.  This  orange  was  brought  to  the  United  States 
by  William  Saunders  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
who  procured  ten  trees  in  Bahia,  Brazil  in  1870  and  which  were  dis- 
tributed in  various  parts  of  the  United  States.  Mrs.  L.  C.  Tibbets, 
then  of  Riverside,  California,  was  fortunate  enough  to  get  two  of  them, 
and  the  buds  from  these  trees  were  grafted  on  to  other  orange  trees. 
These  oranges  came  to  be  known  as  the  Riverside  navel  in  contradis- 
tinction to  a  similar  variety  which  previously  had  been  brought  from 
Australia,  but  which  had  been  found  to  lack  some  of  the  desirable  quali- 
ties of  the  more  recent  importation.  The  spread  of  the  Washington 
navel  was  rapid,  and  it  has  now  won  first  place  among  most  growers 
and  fruit  dealers. 


CITRUS  FRUITS  253 

In  the  order  of  their  importance  from  a  fruit  standpoint  oranges 
rank  about  as  follows:  the  Washington  Navel  which  is  a  good  keeper 
as  well  as  a  very  palatable  fruit,  the  Australian  Navel,  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sweet,  Maltese  Blood,  St.  Michael,  Valencia  Late,  and  the 
Mandarin  and  Tangerine  which  were  brought  from  China.  All  of  these 
oranges  have  their  places  in  the  fruit  schedule,  notwithstanding  some 
of  them  may  seem  of  small  import  until  we  come  to  look  into  the  sub- 
ject closely. 

Of  the  early  history  of  the  lemon  there  is  little  to  be  said  except  that 
the  fruit  was  first  brought  into  Spain  by  the  Arabs  the  latter  part  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  and  was  shortly  afterwards  grown  in  the  Azores  from 
which  the  first  shipments  to  England  were  made  about  1494.  This  fruit 
is  not  so  widely  growTn  as  the  orange  and  the  commercial  supply  of  the 
whole  world  is  obtained  almost  wholly  from  Spain,  Portugal,  Sicily, 
California  and  Florida. 

This  fruit  is  more  difficult  to  produce  and  transport  than  oranges, 
and  the  fact  that  lemon  trees  are  more  susceptible  to  the  effect  of  cold 
weather  makes  their  cultivation  except  in  certain  favored  localities  a 
hazardous  undertaking.  The  Lisbon  variety  which  is  grown  in  this 
country  principally  in  the  Riverside,  California  district  was  brought 
from  Portugal,  while  the  Genoa  lemon  which  is  grown  in  the  Los  Angeles 
vicinity  came  from  the  groves  about  Genoa,  Italy,  and  is  said  to  have 
been  introduced  into  this  country  by  Don  Jose  Rubio  of  Los  Angeles. 
The  Bonnie  Brae  and  the  Villa  Franca  are  two  varieties  which  are  said 
to  have  originated  with  H.  M.  Higgins  of  San  Diego  county,  California, 
while  the  Eureka  lemon  was  first  grown  by  C.  R.  Workman  of  Los 
Angeles.  The  Messia  is  another  variety  but  it  is  not  extensively 
cultivated. 

Lemon  culture  in  the  United  States  has  been  retarded  considerably 
because  of  the  unfavorable  tariff  schedules  which  heretofore  have  favored 
the  imported  fruits;  but  with  the  increased  tariff  rate  on  foreign  lemons 
it  is  believed  that  most  of  the  domestic  markets  will  hereafter  be  sup- 
plied by  American  grown  lemons  and  those  who  have  looked  the  situa- 
tion over  realize  the  fact  that  parts  of  California,  Texas  and  Florida 
hold  out  some  favorable  prospects  so  far  as  producing  territory  is  con- 
cerned. The  success  of  the  domestic  lemon  now  seems  to  depend  more 
on  reasonable  transportation  charges  than  anything  else. 

The  pomelo,  which  is  more  commonly  known  as  grape-fruit,  is  grown 
most  successfully  in  Florida  where  it  reaches  perfection  so  far  as  flavor 
is  concerned.  This  fruit  originated  in  the  Malay  peninsula  and  was  first 
brought  to  the  West  Indies  by  Captain  Shaddock  during  the  last  cen- 


25-t      PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

tury.  It  was  shortly  afterwards  taken  up  by  the  Florida  growers  and 
later  by  Californians  where  it  has  been  cultivated  extensively,  but  with- 
out very  satisfactory  results  owing  to  the  lack  of  juice  and  the  seeming 
impossibility  of  getting  the  proper  flavor  as  in  Florida. 

The  citron  is  cultivated  to  some  extent  in  Florida  and  California,, 
the  largest  orchard  probably  in  this  country  being  the  Westlake  at 
Duarte  in  Los  Angeles  County. 

Of  limes  there  are  some  five  or  six  varieties  which  are  cultivated 
principally  in  Mexico  and  the  West  Indies.  The  island  of  Montserrat 
in  the  West  Indies,  which  has  an  area  of  only  thirty-two  square  miles, 
is  credited  with  the  largest  grove  in  the  world.  Of  late  years  our 
largest  importations  of  limes  have  been  from  Mexico  and  San  Domingo. 

From  a  commercial  standpoint  the  evolution  of  citrus  fruit  growing  in 
this  country  has  been  phenomenal.  A  good  deal  has  been  said  on  the 
subject  of  this  important  business  and  time  and  again  public  attention 
has  been  directed  to  the  fact  that  it  is  one  of  the  greatest  sources  of 
revenue  to  the  leading  commercial  growing  sections.  Long  ago  the  value 
of  the  California  orange  crop  became  greater  than  the  annual  gold  out- 
put. Those  in  position  to  know  the  facts  will  not  deny  that  the  Florida 
crop  is  one  of  the  greatest  sources  of  revenue  to  the  people  of  that  state. 
There  seems  to  be  no  getting  enough  of  oranges,  and  this  probably  will 
always  be  true  if  they  are  of  good  quality  and  can  be  had  at  favorable 
prices. 

Attention  has  been  called  to  the  importance  of  raising  the  standards 
of  quality  of  other  fruits  while  discussing  them  in  foregoing  chapters, 
and  it  may  be  stated  here  that  the  same  rule  applies  to  citrus  fruits. 
It  easily  can  be  seen  that  in  such  an  enormous  industry  any  change  in 
the  system  of  growing,  packing  and  marketing  which  will  cut  down 
the  percentage  of  decay,  or  in  other  words  the  loss,  means  a  great  sum 
of  money  in  the  end  to  those  who  are  directly  concerned. 

If  there  had  been  any  room  for  doubt  as  to  the  effect  proper  handling 
of  oranges  had  on  the  quality  when  they  reached  their  destinations  in 
various  markets,  those  doubts  certainly  were  dissipated  by  the  investiga- 
tions conducted  by  representatives  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agri- 
culture a  few  years  ago  which  were  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Powell, 
a  skilled  pomologist. 

The  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  issued  a  pamphlet  which  contained  the 
result  of  these  investigations,  and  the  percentage  of  decay  shown  in 
fruit  which  had  been  harvested  carefully  and  properly  brushed  and  then 
precooled  before  shipping,  as  all  oranges  should  be,  showing  practically 
no  decay  in  the  long  run  from  California  to  New  York.  With  pre- 


CITRUS  FRUITS  255 

cooling  now  considered  a  necessary  step  in  the  marketing  of  oranges  it 
would  seem  that  the  system  has  become  very  nearly  perfect  so  far  as  the 
methods  employed  are  concerned,  but  as  was  pointed  out  by  the  experts 
in  charge  of  these  investigations,  nothing  can  take  the  place  of  careful 
handling  in  getting  the  fruit  ready  for  shipment,  as  the  percentage  of 
decay  in  every  instance  was  enormously  high  where  the  oranges  had 
been  mechanically  injured  in  preparing  them  for  shipment. 

Generally  speaking,  groves  which  have  proper  attention  produce 
the  best  average  fruit,  and  oranges  which  are  handled  least  develop  the 
least  decay  from  the  time  they  leave  the  grove  until  they  reach  the 
consumer.  Any  specks  on  an  orange  pave  the  way  to  its  ruin,  as  these 
minute  particles  are  veritable  hot  beds  for  bacteria.  Those  accustomed 
to  handling  fruit  know  what  it  means  for  one  or  two  rotten  oranges  to 
be  in  a  package  and  to  have  several  of  these  bad  packages  scattered 
through  a  car. 

The  author  feels  that  Mr.  Powell  has  covered  the  case  thoroughly  in 
the  following  language  which  he  takes  the  liberty  to  quote  from  the 
bulletin  issued  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  bearing  on  the  subject: 

"There  are  a  few  fundamental  factors  that  appear  to  govern  the  suc- 
cessful shipment  of  the  orange.  The  groves  should  be  kept  free  from 
scale  and  in  good  condition,  in  order  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  washing 
the  fruit;  the  picking,  the  hauling  and  the  packing-house  operations 
should  be  of  such  a  character  as  to  preserve  the  natural  immunity  of  the 
orange  rather  than  to  make  it  susceptible  to  rot  by  rough  mechanical 
handling.  It  is  equally  important  to  ship  the  fruit  quickly  after  picking 
and  packing  at  the  lowest  practical  temperature.  There  has  been  an 
improvement  in  the  methods  of  handling  the  orange  in  the  last  few  years, 
but  the  amount  of  injury  that  occurs  in  handling  the  fruit  in  many  groves 
and  packing  houses  is  still  excessive.  Citrus  fruits  are  probably  handled 
better  than  any  other  large  fruit  crop  in  the  United  States.  No  other 
fruit  crop  is  handled  with  such  a  degree  of  skill  and  economy,  but  at 
the  same  time  it  should  be  recognized  that  it  is  false  economy  to  reduce 
the  cost  of  the  various  handling  operations  to  a  point  that  makes  a  proper 
handling  of  the  fruit  impossible.  To  overcome  the  losses  from  decay 
in  transit  is  a  business  matter  related  to  the  methods  of  organizing  the 
citrus-fruit  business,  to  the  systems  of  labor  hiring,  the  methods  of  pick- 
ing and  hauling  the  fruit,  the  system  of  packing-house  management,  and 
the  methods  and  efficiency  of  transportation.  A  system  of  organization, 
of  labor  handling  or  of  packing-house  management  that  makes  the 
quantity  rather  than  the  quality  and  uniformity  of  the  work  the  leading 
consideration  is  detrimental  to  the  shipping  quality  of  the  fruit." 


256  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

The  author  has  had  some  suggestions  in  mind  which  he  intended  to 
include  in  this  chapter  relative  to  marketing  citrus  fruits,  and  discuss 
in  detail  some  possible  changes  in  the  methods  of  handling  oranges 
heretofore  in  vogue.  But  inasmuch  as  most  of  the  men  connected  with 
the  business  are  experts  in  that  particular  field,  and  since  the  marketing 
system,  by  auction  or  otherwise,  has  been  carried  almost  to  perfection 
it  would  seem  that  it  is  rather  dangerous  ground  to  tread  upon  with 
the  expectation  of  accomplishing  anything  worthy  of  the  name.  Yet 
some  remarks  on  certain  ragged  edges  may  not  be  out  of  place. 

To  the  writer's  mind  it  seems  that  there  are  entirely  too  many  brands 
of  oranges,  especially  those  usually  handled  through  a  large  association 
or  marketing  agency.  Oranges  are  simply  oranges, — either  good,  bad  or 
indifferent.  Those  who  are  handling  these  various  brands  all  the  time 
probably  have  no  difficulty  in  keeping  up  with  them,  but  even  the  average 
fruit  dealer  scratches  his  head  when  you  mention  some  of  them. 

For  several  years  the  writer  has  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  ultimately 
a  scheme  can  be  worked  out  to  pack  citrus  fruits  so  that  the  unit  will 
not  go  by  the  dozen  to  the  consumer  or  so  much  apiece,  but  by  arranging 
a  certain  size  package  to  sell  for,  say  25c.  The  writer  is  aware  of  the 
fact  that  several  experiments  of  this  kind  have  been  tried  without  very 
satisfactory  results.  Still  he  believes  that  the  scheme  can  be  executed 
and  with  the  aid  of  proper  advertising  will  reach  the  consumer  to  better 
advantage  than  through  methods  now  in  vogue. 

The  main  point  in  arranging  a  smaller  unit  than  the  common  packing 
box  is  that  the  smaller  package  is  more  convenient  for  the  average  buyer, 
and  for  the  additional  reason  that  it  is  a  strong  talking  point  on  which 
to  base  an  argument  for  the  consumer  to  use  a  certain  kind  of  fruit. 
Imagine  a  nicely  illustrated  ad  reading  something  like  this:  "Our  de- 
licious oranges  in  dainty  baskets  packed  with  the  utmost  care  and  sold 
under  a  positive  guarantee  to  please  you.  You  cannot  duplicate  the  food 
value  in  any  other  kind  of  fruit.  Price  25c." 

So  far  only  the  ice  has  been  broken  in  advertising  to  reach  the  con- 
sumer, but  what  has  been  done  here  and  there  affords  an  excellent  object 
lesson.  The  writer  does  not  fear  to  predict  that  within  the  next  few 
years  there  will  be  some  scheme  developed  and  carried  into  execution 
which  will  astound  the  progressive  old  timer  who  inclines  to  believe 
that  no  further  improvements  can  be  made  in  successfully  marketing 
citrus  fruits. 

During  the  preparation  of  this  volume  the  writer  has  been  approached 
on  several  occasions  and  urged  to  include  in  this  chapter  certain  techni- 
cal matter  relating  both  to  the  growing  and  the  packing  of  citrus  fruits, 


CITRUS  FRUITS  257 

but  he  regrets  that  he  has  not  seen  his  way  clear  to  incorporate  such  ma- 
terial as  would  make  of  this  a  technical  treatise,  whereas  his  intention 
at  the  outset  was  to  give  only  a  casual  resume  of  the  fruit  business  from 
a  more  or  less  general  marketing  standpoint  and  not  to  include  more 
than  is  essential  in  the  way  of  scientific  or  technical  matter  to  help  illus- 
trate marketing  problems. 

It  was  thought  by  one  eastern  dealer  that  a  careful  comparison  of 
Florida  and  California  would  be  a  matter  of  great  interest,  but  the  author 
regrets  his  lack  of  time  and  space  to  go  into  a  discussion  of  this  kind. 
Besides  it  is  not  at  all  necessary.  The  two  states  occupy  an  entirely 
different  field  and  have  their  particular  advantages  and  disadvantages. 
Rather  than  parade  their  shortcomings  the  author  would  prefer  to  assist 
in  working  out  a  remedy  for  them;  their  advantages  are  sufficiently  well 
known  and  have  already  been  briefly  referred  to  in  the  foregoing. 

To  a  casual  observer  it  would  seem  that  the  citrus  fruit  business  lit- 
erally breeds  millionaires.  After  all,  maybe  there  is  some  connection 
between  the  color  of  the  fruit  and  the  color  of  the  metal  for  which  they 
appear  to  have  been  able  to  make  a  ready  exchange,  but  it  could  hardly 
be  said  of  the  men  who  have  grown  wealthy  in  the  citrus  fruit  business 
that  they  are  possessed  of  the  so-called  "tainted  money/'  because  they 
have  certainly  given  value  received  for  the  fortunes  they  have  accumu- 
lated and  it  is  doubtful  if  a  class  of  more  patriotic  broad  gauged  people 
could  be  found  in  any  other  line  of  business  than  those  you  will  meet 
engaged  in  the  growing,  shipping  and  selling  of  citrus  fruits.  Most  of 
them  are  an  honor  to  the  line  of  business  they  represent,  which  in  itself 
is  certainly  a  credit  to  this  country. 

Of  course,  I  speak  from  the  standpoint  of  the  whole  and  not  of  the 
individual.  We  all  know  the  business  would  stand  a  show  of  being  a- 
paradise  if  certain  men  and  their  methods  could  be  eliminated  from  the 
game. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII 

PEACHES 

So  much  has  been  said  about  the  culture  of  the  p*each  and  the  adapta- 
bility of  certain  varieties  to  different  localities  that  it  would  be  useless 
to  try  to  add  anything  of  special  interest  to  that  phase  of  the  subject. 

Nor  does  it  seem  worth  while  to  add  any  comments  on  the  best  varie- 
ties to  select  for  commercial  purposes,  although  we  may  consider  a  few 
of  the  merits  and  demerits  of  certain  varieties  before  closing  this  chapter. 

Undoubtedly  there  are  several  good  kinds  of  peaches  which  have  been 
found  to  be  desirable  for  certain  localities  and  for  certain  purposes. 
But  as  before  stated  the  selection  of  varieties  is  a  matter  quite  apart 
from  our  comments  on  the  subject  of  marketing,  and  since  so  much  has 
been  written  by  others  about  the  different  varieties  of  peaches  and  so 
little  has  been  offered  of  an  intelligent  nature  about  proper  arid  profit- 
able selling,  we  may  well  feel  satisfied  to  treat  alone  on  that  phase  of  the 
question. 

To  begin  with  the  fruit  in  the  orchard  we  are  at  the  beginning  of  the 
main  problem  of  successful  marketing.  And  by  this  I  mean  peaches 
ready  for  gathering  and  shipping. 

Unless  fruit  is  picked  at  the  right  time  and  in  just  the  right  way 
the  task  of  selling  profitably  is  greatly  complicated.  Unless  good 
judgment  is  exercised  in  this  essential  particular  it  is  merely  luck  if 
good  results  in  the  way  of  prices  are  obtained.  So  it  need  cause  little 
surprise  if  otherwise  perfectly  developed  and  colored  fruit  is  sacrificed 
through  carelessness  in  picking,  or  by  not  being  packed  and  shipped 
under  proper  conditions. 

Therefore,  I  feel  that  picking  and  packing  are  matters  concerning 
which  a  few  words  will  not  come  amiss  at  this  juncture. 

About  the  picking  of  peaches  a  few  general  suggestions  will  suffice. 
When  peaches  show  good  color,  good  size  and  are  well  filled  out  and 
can  be  broken  from  the  stem  without  much  effort,  they  are  ready  to  pick. 

258 


PEACHES  259 

If  allowed  to  remain  on  the  tree  until  they  will  drop  at  the  slightest  touch 
they  are  too  ripe  to  pack  for  shipment.  An  orchard  must  be  gone  over 
at  least  three  or  four  times  if  the  work  is  to  be  well  done.  Don't  pick 
too  green — this  mistake  is  almost  as  fatal  as  waiting  until  too  ripe. 
About  the  last  touch  nature  supplies  is  the  fine  flavor.  If  picked  too 
early  much  of  this  is  lost.  The  green  side  of  the  peach  must  begin  to 
show  the  rich  tinge  of  yellow  beneath  the  fuza,  but  must  still  be  hard 
and  solid  to  the  touch. 

The  ideal  method  is  to  pick  every  tree  daily.  This  is  'perhaps  not 
practical  or  possible  in  a  very  large  orchard.  Work  as  nearly  up  to  the 
ideal  as  you  can;  proper  picking  is  important.  Don't  allow  any  rough, 
careless  handling,  either  before  or  after  packing;  strive  to  pack  so  fruit 
will  show  up  well  in  crate.  The  prospective  purchaser  is  quickly  at- 
tracted by  a  neat  package  of  showy  fruit,  it  catches  his  eye  first — 
then  his  money,  while  an  untidy,  sloppy  package  of  same  general  quality 
of  fruit  is  passed  by  as  undesirable.  Remember  when  packing  your 
peaches  that  you  are  competing  with  thousands  of  other  people  in  the 
same  line.  Strive  to  make  your  pack  so  attractive  that  it  will  sell  first 
when  it  reaches  the  market. 

Even  with  the  good  demand  there  is  likely  to  be  for  peaches  every 
season,  some  fruit  is  sent  to  market  that  will  not  sell  except  at  very  low 
prices  by  reason  of  careless  handling  and  general  unattractiveness.  Fill 
the  crates  full  of  good  attractive  fruit ;  half  filled  or  slack  filled  packages 
won't  sell. 

The  same  general  common  sense  rules  as  to  grading  should  be  re- 
ligiously followed.  Extra  choice  or  fancy  and  choice  should  be  the  only 
two  grades  for  sending  to  market, — anything  else  should  be  dried  or  sold 
to  canners,  to  jelly  makers,  cider  mills  or  else  fed  to  stock. 

The  grades  I  refer  to  suggest  themselves  readily.  If  an  extra  choice 
grade  is  to  be  put  up  only  the  finest  and  best  fruit  is  to  be  selected 
and  it  should  run  uniform  through  the  entire  package  so  that  a  brand 
can-  be  built  up  and  those  who  have  used  the  same  fruit  before  will 
inquire  for  the  same  pack  again.  The  importance  of  this  asset  is  too 
little  considered  by  growers  and  shippers,  for  if  a  pack  or  brand  is 
established  and  the  grade  maintained  it  is  easy  to  get  a  premium  over 
prevailing  prices  for  common  fruit  that  will  pay  for  the  extra  pains. 

Choice  should  be  choice,  and  not  a  layer  of  good  fruit  on  top  and  the 
balance  made  up  of  half  wormy  or  defective  stuff  below.  The  fruit  is 
not  choice  if  not  sound  and  reasonably  uniform  in  size  and  ripeness. 
Do  not  put  green  peaches  in  with  those  half  or  two  thirds  ripe  and  expect 
the  commission  man  will  be  able  to  remedy  vour  mistake.  No  use  talk- 


260  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

ing  about  his  fooling  the  buyers  to  whom  he  may  try  to  sell  for  they 
know  as  much  about  fruit  as  he  does,  and  they  both  know  more  about  it 
from  a  selling  point  of  view  than  the  man  who  grew  it.  If  growers 
could  only  understand  this  fact  and  act  accordingly  they  would  save 
themselves  and  the  commission  men  a  lot  of  worry.  On  any  market 
you  will  find  buyers  scurrying  up  and  down  the  line,  and  you  may  be 
sure  they  look  carefully  over  stock  in  perhaps  a  dozen  places  before 
buying.  Now  and  then  a  "sucker"  comes  along,  but  most  of  the  buyers 
are  not  of  this  type  and  the  more  intelligent  growers  know  it  is  not 
profitable  to  cater  to  such  trade.  Nor  is  it  desirable  to  cater  to  the 
cheap  class  of  trade.  The  main  thing  is  to  produce  a  good  quality  and 
pack  in  nice  style,  true  to  grade,  and  you  will  find  your  returns  will  bear 
out  my  statement  that  it  pays. 

Packages  for  peaches  is  one  of  the  main  features  in  their  successful 
marketing  and  is  indeed  a  subject  that  would  justify  extended  comment. 
There  are  baskets  holding  a  bushel,  a  half  bushel,  a  peck  and  a  fifth, 
and  I  am  sorry  to  say  a  "sixth,"  which  is  too  often  intended  to  be  a 
skimp  fifth. 

In  the  crate  we  find  the  six  basket  carrier  and  the  four  basket  carrier, 
commonly  known  to  the  trade  as  "sixes"  and  "fours."  About  the  only 
box  used  to  any  extent  is  the  flat  shape  California  box  holding  two  lay- 
ers, containing  from  32  to  54  peaches  in  each  layer.  This  is  the  favorite 
package  in  the  far  west,  especially  for  a  long  haul  to  market. 

As  to  the  relative  merit  of  the  various  kinds  of  packages  we  need  pay 
little  heed  as  they  are  perhaps  best  adapted  to  their  various  uses.  The 
baskets  have  much  in  their  favor  if  properly  packed,  but  in  the  larger 
sizes,  bushels  and  halves,  they  must  be  handled  carefully.  No  matter 
how  they  are  put  up  they  seem  to  need  repacking,  facing  and  filling 
up  when  they  reach  their  destination.  A  dressy  appearance  in  a  pack- 
age cannot  be  overestimated.  Too  often  the  sale  of  a  car  of  baskets  is 
spoiled  for  no  other  reason  than  the  poor  appearance  of  the  packages. 
It  is  found  a  good  plan  by  some  shippers  to  put  some  extra  baskets  into 
the  cars  when  loaded  and  when  the  peaches  are  ready  to  be  put  on  sale 
the  fruit  is  simply  transferred  from  one  basket  to  another,  usually  just 
poured  out,  and  when  the  process  is  completed  it  is  found  several  of  the 
extra  baskets  will  be  required  and  you  have  also  secured  better  prices. 

This  is  not  necessary  in  the  case  of  the  smaller  baskets  for  it  would 
be  too  much  trouble  to  take  off  the  tarlatan  and  little  or  no  advantage 
would  be  gained  anyway  by  repacking,  for  they  are  usually  packed  tight 
and  show  practically  no  shrinkage.  I  refer,  of  course,  to  the  fifths  and 
sixths. 


PEACHES  261 

The  crates  share  about  the  same  popularity  with  possibly  the  "six" 
a  slight  favorite  in  most  markets.  The  six  basket  carrier  is  distinctly 
a  Georgia  product  and  will  be  used  I  suppose  as  long  as  the  famous 
Elberta  holds  its  place  in  public  favor.  This  elongated  crate  with  three 
baskets  below  and  three  above  is  too  well  known  to  require  any  descrip- 
tion. The  fours  or  "flats"  are  bully,  provided  the  sides  are  not  slanting 
like  tomato  crates.  It  is  impossible  to  get  these  slanting  sides  to  carry 
well  as  the  fruit  in  the  bottom  gets  mashed,  and  once  a  peach  is  mashed 
or  bruised  you  know  what  happens,  not  only  to  the  aforesaid  peach, 
but  to  others  in  the  same  package,  and  also  in  other  packages.  Many 
people  are  prejudiced  against  using  the  four  basket  carrier  of  any  kind 
because  of  the  unpleasant  memories  they  have  of  the  "slanting"  side 
kind  with  a  top  about  4  or  5  inches  wider  than  the  bottom.  But  after 
all  is  said  some  markets  and  some  dealers  hold  the  "fours"  in  high 
esteem  and  declare  it  to  be  the  best  for  their  purposes. 

The  flat  box  is  no  doubt  best  for  western  peaches. 

When  the  peach  deal  is  subjected  to  every  test  for  results  it  is  no 
exception  to  the  general  rules  laid  down  in  preceding  chapters  about  all 
kinds  of  produce  so  far  as  uncertainty  goes.  From  a  marketing  stand- 
point, assuming  good  fruit  and  proper  packing,  it  is  nearly  altogether 
a  matter  of  favorable  weather  and  proper  transportation.  If  peaches 
have  had  good  weather,  especially  during  the  ripening  period,  and  are 
fixed  up  and  shipped  promptly  they  should  sell  well  in  some  market 
which  can  nearly  always  be  reached  on  a  rate  that  will  pay  to  use  to 
market  the  fruit. 

And  the  converse  of  this  holds  true.  Bad  weather  over  night  will 
frequently  knock  the  most  flattering  prospects  in  the  head  in  less  time 
than  it  takes  to  tell  about  it ;  and  then  poor  railroad  or  boat  service,  or 
rotten  refrigeration  as  we  sometimes  see  and  hear  of  absolutely  pre- 
cludes successful  handling. 

But  most  of  the  trouble  with  transportation  can  be  remedied  by  mak- 
ing preparations  far  enough  in  advance,  and  every  grower  or  associa- 
tion official  should  see  to  it  that  a  few  weeks  before  the  time  for  active 
shipping  comes  around  that  due  notice  be  given  to  the  proper  officials 
who  will  then  have  a  better  opportunity  to  supply  proper  equipment 
and  make  arrangements  to  take  care  of  the  business  that  will  be  neces- 
sary to  handle.  In  cases  where  an  abnormally  big  crop  is  in  sight  plans 
should  be  laid  G  or  8  weeks  ahead. 

I  say  this  will  help  in  a  large  measure  to  offset  the  troubles  we  fre- 
quently hear  so  much  about.  But  now  and  then  it  happens  that  no 
agency  apparently  can  prevent  losses  to  shippers  because  of  inadequate 


262  PRODUCE   MARKETS   AND   MARKETING 

shipping  facilities.  Yet  as  a  general  thing  the  railroads  should  be  held 
to  account  for  their  failure  or  negligence  to  give  the  service  reasonably 
expected  of  them.  Once  they  find  they  will  be  sued  and  compelled  to 
make  good  losses  caused  by  failure  to  do  their  part  as  required  by  law 
it  usually  is  easy  enough  for  them  to  arrange  to  take  care  of  their 
shipping. 

And  why  shouldn't  the  force  of  the  law  be  used  if  proper  service  can 
not  be  had  otherwise?  If  there  is  any  one  branch  of  the  fruit  business 
that  is  entitled  to  be  called  "peaches  and  cream"  for  the  transporta- 
tion interests  it  is  the  handling  of  the  peach  crop  every  year.  Compare 
the  peach  rates  with  other  kinds  of  fruits  and  consider  the  volume  of 
traffic  for  certain  lines,  and  you  can  easily  figure  out  the  enormous 
revenue  they  derive  from  the  prosaic  peach.  What  a  tidy  sum  is  $100 
to  $200  and  even  more  a  car  on  several  thousand  cars  of  peaches.  It 
makes  no  difference  if  the  fruit  is  consigned  or  sold  f.  o.  b.  it  remains 
clear  that  the  people  in  the  trade  who  handle  the  fruit  must  foot  the 
bills.  Therefore,  let  the  people  who  are  spending  this  money  get  the 
best  service  and  the  proper  value  in  return. 

Some  of  the  railroad  people  contend  that  since  the  price  of  fruit 
charged  consumers  includes  the  item  of  transportation  it  should  be  of 
little  importance  to  the  trade  whether  the  rate  is  50  cents  or  $1  a  hun- 
dred. That  is  one  way  of  looking  at  it.  But  the  more  sensible  view 
is  to  use  every  effort  to  reduce  the  cost  of  peaches  and  everything 
else  to  the  consumer  and  induce  him  to  use  more  of  this  delicious  fruit 
and  other  kinds  too.  It  is  quite  a  feature  in  the  matter  of  successful 
marketing  to  have  a  line  of  high  priced  stuff  that  will  not  move  as  it 
should  for  no  other  reason  but  that  it  is  just  a  little  higher  than  it 
should  be  for  the  public  to  take  hold  freely.  Nearly  always  too  high  a 
transportation  charge  against  peaches  is  assessed  when  we  figure  what 
the  public  will  pay  for  the  fruit  and  use  it  so  as  to  keep  it  going  into 
consumption  as  it  should  at  the  right  time. 

Some  time  ago  the  author  was  in  conversation  with  a  pioneer  peach 
grower,  a  man  who  has  made  considerable  money  out  of  the  business  in 
his  time,  and  the  writer  asked  him  if  there  were  any  hard  and  fast  rules 
or  useful  suggestions  he  could  give  which  might  be  included  in  this 
chapter. 

"Yes,  tell  'em  to  work  hard,  pray  constantly  and  spray  often,"  said 
he  with  no  further  show  of  interest.  It  needs  little  further  comment. 
If  growers  are  to  make  a  success  of  peach  raising  they  want  to  do  their 
part  in  the  best  possible  shape.  Having  produced  a  good  article  of  fruit 
they  can  safely  turn  it  over  to  a  reliable  dealer  in  any  one  of  a  score 


PEACHES  263 

of  markets  and  sell  for  a  nice  price, — one  that  will  yield  them  a  fair 
profit  on  their  investment  of  time  and  money  in  developing  their 
orchards. 

In  closing  I  want  to  say  a  few  words  about  canning  factories  as  an 
adjunct  to  marketing  peaches.  The  factory  certainly  has  its  place,  and 
it  should  be  run  profitably,,  utilizing  undergrades  especially,  but  it  is  a 
mistake  to  suppose  that  only  inferior  stock  can  be  canned  with  a  nice 
profit.  There  are  times  when  the  canning  factory  offers  better  induce- 
ments than  any  other  outlet.  When  these  circumstances  arise  it  is  only 
common  sense  to  use  the  factory.  But  when  everybody  begins  to  load 
up  the  canners  and  forget  bare  markets  will  re-act  it  is  a  good  idea 
to  sleep  with  one  eye  open  on  the  markets  which  have  scant  supplies. 
Where  there  are  sufficient  supplies  growers  might  well  arrange  to  own 
their  canning  factories. 

Possibly  the  least  said  -about  peach  rot  and  specking  in  transit  the 
better,  for  some  growers  seem  not  to  have  learned  that  peaches  which  they 
saw  loaded  and  knew  to  be  good  when  they  last  saw  them  really  reach 
destination  in  poor  shape.  But  the  peach  is  one  of  the  most  delicate 
kinds  of  fruit;  with  too  much  moisture  it  goes  down  quickly,  and 
once  a  car  of  peaches  begins  to  speck  it  is  generally  a  case  of  getting  out 
with  as  small  loss  as  possible,  and  prospective  profits  nearly  always  are 
lost  sight  of. 

It  is  a  safe  bet  on  an  average  that  the  intelligent  peach  grower  who 
aims  to  put  up  an  honest  pack  makes  some  money  season  in  and  season 
out  on  his  venture.  But  that  class  of  undesirable  citizens  who  will  top 
their  fruit  off  in  any  shape  so  as  to  make  a  sale  and  stick  somebody, 
and  who  are  too  lazy  to  take  proper  care  of  their  orchards,  are  a  draw- 
back to  successful  growing  and  marketing  and  are  entitled  to  little  profit 
and  less  sympathy  for  their  so  called  hard  luck.  But  they  are  in  a 
minority,  I  am  glad  to  say,  as  they  are  dying  off. 

Long  may  the  luscious  Elberta,  the  delicious  Crawford,  the  tasty 
Smock  and  the  hundred  and  one  other  good  varieties  continue  to  grow 
in  popular  favor,  and  may  the  faithful,  if  not  too  rich  buyers,  who  go 
against  buying  them  every  season  win  out  at  least  as  many  times  as  they 
have  lost  money. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

PINEAPPLES,  PEARS,  PRUNES  AND  PECANS 

In  the  preparation  of  any  volume  or  treatise  of  a  technical  character 
it  is  often  the  misfortune  of  an  author  that  he  is  confronted  with  a 
peculiar  circumstance  in  that  he  has  in  mind  a  subject  he  feels  he 
should  say  something  about  but  frequently  lacks  a  proper  opportunity. 
In  other  words,  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  follow  the  usual  lines  of  divi- 
sion or  demarcation  which  would  logically  determine  under  what  caption 
certain  comments  or  suggestions  should  come. 

Therefore,  he  must  resort  to  some  other  convenience  for  treating 
matters  of  this  kind  when  a  subject  hardly  warrants  a  chapter,  and  that 
is  just  what  we  shall  have  to  do  in  this  instance.  Our  convenience  in 
this  chapter  will  be  alliteration.  About  the  only  similarity  existing  in 
the  subjects  which  are  included  in  this  division  lies  in  the  fact  that  they 
all  are  spelled  by  beginning  with  the  same  letter.  Naturally,  some 
critics  will  point  to  this  as  a  weakness,  but  in  treating  a  subject  like  the 
produce  business  which  is  so  largely  made  up  of  this,  that  and  the  other 
it  is  hoped  that  the  breach  of  form  may  be  overlooked  to  some  extent  at 
least.  At  any  rate,  we  shall  try  to  avoid  a  pot  pourri. 

Taking  up  the  articles  in  the  order  they  are  named  there  are  a  few 
comments  and  suggestions  I  want  to  make,  and  which  I  trust  will  not 
be  considered  out  of  place  in  this  chapter. 

With  reference  to  pineapples  there  is  not  a  great  deal  from  a  mar- 
keting standpoint  which  can  be  set  down  here,  but  at  the  same  time 
there  are  one  or  two  features  about  their  marketing  which  the  author 
deems  this  volume  should  contain. 

The  rapid  development  of  the  pineapple  industry  in  Cuba  and  in 
the  Hawaiian  Islands  has  been  largely  responsible  for  an  entire  change 
in  the  alignment  in  the  American  markets.  The  Florida  crop,  always 
of  chief  importance  to  our  domestic  markets,  has  certainly  felt  the  in- 
roads of  the  foreign  fruit,  for  many  people  who  had  heretofore  come 

264 


PINEAPPLES,  PEARS,  PRUNES  AND  PECANS  265 

to  regard  the  pineapple  strictly  from  the  standpoint  of  a  Florida  product 
have  been  forced  to  yield  to  the  pressure  of  this  imported  fruit  and  to 
witness  changes  which  they  little  dreamt  a  few  years  ago  would  ever 
come  about. 

What  tends  to  complicate  matters  more  than  ever  with  respect  to  for- 
eign pineapples  is  the  fact  that  both  Cuba  and  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
are  wards  of  the  United  States,  and  it  would  seem  that  a  strange  po- 
litical situation  has  been  indirectly  responsible  for  the  unexpected  and 
uninvited  advent  of  the  foreign  fruit  into  our  American  markets.  Those 
interested  in  the  pineapple  trade  both  from  a  growing  and  selling  stand- 
point have  already  awakened  to  the  fact  that  they  are  confronted  by  a 
really  serious  situation,  and  while  there  is  no  prospect  of  immediate 
danger  to  the  Florida  pineapple  industry,  still  we  should  bear  in  mind 
that  this  foreign  production  is  of  comparatively  recent  date.  Why 
may  we  not  look  forward  to  further  inroads  upon  the  domestic  industry 
caused  by  a  rapidly  increased  production  in  these  foreign  countries 
which  have  fallen  somewhat  accidentally  under  the  care  of  our  national 
government  ? 

The  author  admits  quite  readily  that  from  the  standpoint  of  an  in- 
creased production  prices  generally  should  be  lower  to  the  consumer 
which  might  be  expected  as  a  logical  result,  and  which  should  mean  a 
wider  and  more  general  distribution  of  this  fruit.  But  we  should  re- 
member that  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  we  are  better  off  when  we 
are  distributing  more  pineapples  at  lower  prices.  The  question  is  easily 
a  debatable  one,  and  attention  is  only  directed  to  it  with  a  view  to  awak- 
ening interest  without  prejudicing  the  reader  one  way  or  the  other. 

From  the  strictly  marketing  standpoint  of  pineapples  there  is  not  room 
to  say  a  great  deal,  for  the  matter  of  grading  and  packing  has  been 
worked  out  on  what  appears  to  be  satisfactory  lines  to  all  concerned. 
Aside  from  the  usurious  transportation  charges  on  Florida  pineapples, 
and  the  slow,  antiquated  system  of  getting  the  fruit  on  board  vessels 
in  Cuba  we  might  reserve  our  space  for  better  purposes. 

With  respect  to  the  rate  on  Florida  pines  it  does  not  require  a  traffic 
expert  to  see  that  a  grave  injustice  is  being  done  to  the  growers  and 
shippers  from  that  state,  and  to  a  casual  observer  it  will  appear  that 
some  remedy  will  have  to  be  applied  soon.  The  rate  is  simply  outrageous 
and,  in  the  estimation  of  expert  traffic  men,  if  it  is  ever  properly  at- 
tacked it  will  have  to  be  revised  and  lowered.  . 

As  regards  Cuban  pineapples  there  need  be  little  expressed  beyond 
a  regret  that  this  country  is  cursed  with  the  common  laziness  peculiar 
to  the  tropics,  and  what  might  otherwise  be  good  fruit  if  properly 


266  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

handled  and  promptly  shipped,  is  frequently  only  of  fair  quality  when 
it  is  put  on  sale  in  our  markets  after  having  been  hauled  from  the  fields 
by  an  ox  team,  driven  by  a  sleepy  native,  who  moves,  thinks  and  lives 
obsessed  in  a  creed  whose  watchword  is  may  ana. 

Some  have  expressed  the  opinion  that  one  day  there  will  be  enough 
Americans  in  Cuba  entirely  to  handle  the  pineapple  business  and  every- 
thing else  as  we  do  things  in  this  country,  but  others  less  optimistic 
fear  that  when  enough  of  our  people  go  over  there  to  accomplish  this 
they  will  catch  the  fever  and  be  as  lazy  as  the  natives  themselves.  May- 
be so. 

Now  in  regard  to  pears,  the  second  item  of  our  subject,  there  is  so 
much  to  be  said  which  will  not  likely  be  of  more  than  passing  importance 
except  to  those  actually  engaged  in  the  commercial  growing  or  market- 
ing of  this  fruit,  and  which  would  be  of  a  strictly  technical  character 
that  would  not  properly  come  within  our  scope,  we  shall  have  to  confine 
ourselves  to  a  few  general  remarks  on  the  subject. 

Pears  are  produced  practically  all  over  the  United  States,  and  al- 
though we  have  ample  supplies  on  an  average  with  a  normal  crop  in  the 
present  number  of  orchards,  it  would  be  hard  to  say  what  would  happen 
if  the  blight  had  not  become  so  widespread  some  years  ago  as  to  com- 
pletely discourage  growers  in  many  sections  and  cause  them  to  cut  out 
their  trees.  Perhaps  this  has  little  to  do  with  our  present  thought  except 
as  an  indication  of  what  the  future  production  is  likely  to  be  with  the 
big  increase  recently  in  many  districts  where  pear  culture  has  been  found 
profitable,  and  which  has  resulted  in  bringing  the  growing  of  this  fruit 
into  popular  favor  again. 

Beginning  with  Georgia  in  the  south  and  extending  all  the  way  north 
along  the  Atlantic  seaboard  we  find  a  number  of  extensive  orchards, 
while  in  the  central  west  and  along  the  Pacific  coast  there  has  been 
a  tremendous  increase  the  past  few  years  in  the  number  of  trees  put 
out  which  is  evidenced  in  the  heavy  shipments  coming  on  the  markets 
every  year  from  the  last  named  territory. 

Undoubtedly  the  Bartlett  is  a  prime  favorite  in  central  and  east- 
ern territory,  and  because  of  its  success  in  most  localities  it  is  perhaps 
entitled  to  rank  as  the  national  favorite.  In  the  far  west  there  are 
several  varieties  cultivated  extensively,  with  the  Anjou  probably  bearing 
the  palm  so  far  as  prices  are  concerned. 

From  a  marketing  standpoint  the  pear  conforms  roughly  to  the  same 
conditions  under  which  other  fruits  are  grown,  packed  and  sold. 

Prunes  may  be  considered  under  two  heads,  domestic  and  foreign. 
The  Italian  prune  has  been  imported  to  some  extent,  but  of  recent 


PINEAPPLES,  PEARS,  PRUNES  AND  PECANS          267 

years  the  heavy  production  in  this  country  which  is  mostly  confined  to 
the  Pacific  coast  has  to  a  large  extent  put  the  foreign  prune  out  of 
business.  Pacific  coast  growers  have  made  wonderful  progress  the  past 
few  years  in  the  cultivation  of  this  fruit.  The  industry  has  now  reached 
the  point  where  enormous  sums  of  money  are  involved,  and  from  pres- 
ent indications  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  within  the  near 
future  the  production  of  prunes  in  this  country  will  be  more  than  doubled. 
Thousands  of  new  orchards  are  coming  into  bearing  in  the  Pacific  Coast 
territory,  and  those  engaged  in  the  fruit  business  will,  no  doubt,  hear 
a  great  deal  more  about  the  importance  of  the  prune  industry  in  this 
country  than  we  have  been  accustomed  to  in  the  past. 

There  are  no  special  comments  with  reference  to  the  packing,  grading 
and  shipping  of  prunes  that  occur  to  the  writer  to  be  of  sufficient  im- 
portance to  require  more  than  a  bit  of  comment  in  this  connection.  What 
has  been  said  in  preceding  chapters  regarding  grading  and  packing  of 
other  fruits  applies  with  equal  emphasis  to  prunes  and,  no  doubt,  some 
improvements  over  the  present  system  of  grading  and  packing  will  be 
adopted  as  the  volume  of  business  dictates  changes  which  should  be  made 
to  accommodate  a  wider  distribution  and  a  freer  consumption  of  this 
fruit. 

So  far  as  the  quality  of  prunes  is  concerned  there  is  no  question  but 
the  American  grown  fruit  equals,  in  most  essential  points,  that  produced 
in  Italy,  or  in  any  other  country  for  that  matter. 

Dried  prunes  already  constitute  a  considerable  item  in  the  fruit  traf- 
fic of  this  country,  and  the  general  tendency  appears  to  be  to  throw  as 
much  of  the  fruit  into  this  channel  as  possible  though,  as  everybody 
knows,  there  is  a  tremendous  traffic  in  the  green  fruit  every  season. 

One  thing,  however,  which  ought  to  be  mentioned  in  connection  with 
the  prune  industry  is  the  fact  that  a  large  proportion  of  our  American 
population  is  gravitating  towards  the  cities  and  towns;  of  course, 
when  people  are  huddled  together  under  conditions  such  as  most  of  them 
live  in .  the  larger  cities  it  means  that  the  boarding  houses  and  the 
cheaper  restaurants  will  have  an  opportunity  to  keep  alive  the  time- 
worn  joke  regarding  "boarding  house"  prunes. 

There  is  no  question  but  prunes  will  always  hold  their  popularity  as 
a  cheap  dessert,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  this  old  board- 
ing house  wheeze  will  be  kept  alive  for  years  to  come.  At  any  rate, 
the  energetic  growers  in  the  West  will  spare  no  pains  to  see  that  a  suffi- 
cient amount  of  fruit  is  supplied  if  the  boarding  houses  and  the  restau- 
rant keepers  will  do  their  full  duty.  And  it  might  be  added  that  a 
worse  article  could  be  selected  as  a  cheap  dessert  than  prunes,  which 


268  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

are  served  in  such  tasty  fashion  by  most  of  the  boarding  houses  and 
cheaper  restaurants  at  the  present  time. 

Regarding  the  pecan  industry,  there  are  several  very  interesting 
points  which  ought  to  be  dwelt  upon,  but  anything  like  a  full  treatise 
would  require  a  separate  volume,  as  the  industry  has  become  so  important 
the  past  few  years  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  do  justice  to  the  pecan 
business  in  a  short  amount  of  reading  matter  such  as  we  shall  have  to 
confine  ourselves  to  in  this  connection. 

For  the  past  few  years  we  have  seen  an  enormous  traffic  in  pecans 
from  Texas,  Mississippi,  Georgia  and  other  southern  and  southwestern 
states.  It  is  estimated  that  several  hundred  thousand  bushels  of  pecans 
are  marketed  every  season  from  the  territory  referred  to,  and  many  new 
groves  have  been  set  during  the  past  few  years.  In  view  of  the  fact 
that  the  pecan  tree  is  of  long  life  and  that  many  of  the  old  orchards 
which  were  set  out  forty  or  fifty  years  ago  are  now  producing  a  full 
crop,  it  has  been  pointed  out  by  some  that  there  is  a  probability  of  over- 
doing the  production  of  pecans  sometime  in  the  near  future.  But  the 
writer  takes  an  opposite  view  of  the  matter  because  the  pecan  is  growing 
in  popularity,  and  more  and  more  of  these  nuts  are  being  used  every 
season. 

One  thing  that  has  always  stood  in  the  way  of  a  free  consumption  of 
pecans  is  the  fact  that  this  nut  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  all  com- 
mercial varieties  to  get  into  eatable  shape.  But  since  two  or  three- 
very  ingenious  devices  have  been  perfected  for  shelling  pecans  it  would 
appear  that  the  main  difficulty  on  this  score  has  been  done  away  with. 
For  a  very  small  sum  housewives  can  now  procure  one  of  these  machines 
and  hull  more  pecans  in  a  few  minutes  than  a  whole  family  could 
formerly  shell  in  a  whole  evening. 

Then  again,  the  system  of  polishing  these  nuts  has  reached  such  a 
state  of  perfection  that  they  can  be  put  in  attractive  shape  so  that 
they  appeal  to  consumers  much  more  quickly  than  formerly. 

In  Texas,  where  the  industry  is  of  perhaps  greater  importance  and 
extent  than  in  any  other  state,  more  attention  has  been  given  to  the 
matter  of  polishing  and  a  very  fine  grade  of  commercial  nut  is  pro- 
duced there.  However,  some  very  excellent  specimens  are  sent 
out  from  Georgia  and  Mississippi,  and  upon  the  whole,  it  would  seem 
that  every  care  is  being  given  to  the  matter  of  appearance,  for  growers 
are  coming  to  realize  that  appearance  is  one  of  the  main  features  in  the 
successful  marketing  of  pecans  as  well  as  all  other  kinds  of  nuts  and 
produce. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

TRUCK  GROWERS  AND  TRUCK 

Perhaps  some  special  reference  should  be  made  to  the  class  of  people 
listed  among  growers  who  produce  different  kinds  of  vegetables  or  truck, 
and  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  have  some  specific  remarks  in  passing  re- 
garding these  people,  and  also  to  the  different  commodities  which  are 
usually  listed  under  truck,  which  latter  word  is  somewhat  like  charity, 
for  it  covers  a  multitude  of  produce  sins  if,  indeed,  sins  can  be  used 
synonymously  with  the  raft  of  different  kinds  of  vegetables  that  run  the 
entire  gamut  in  quality,  color  and  market  values. 

Primarily,  truck  growers  are  understood  to  be  those  who  cultivate 
small  tracts  and  generally  follow  an  intensive  system  of  producing  fruits 
and  vegetables  for  the  larger  markets.  According  to  the  general  accep- 
tation of  the  term,  these  growers  reside  near  towns  or  cities,  but  we  have 
come  to  realize  that  there  is  no  important  connection  between  the  resi- 
dence of  the  truck  grower  and  his  following. 

Practically  the  same  mode  of  living  and  methods  of  operation  are  fol- 
lowed nowadays  by  truck  growers  whether  they  reside  nearer  the  large 
market  centers  or  happen  to  be  following  their  calling  in  newly  settled 
territory.  And  it  is  not  our  purpose  in  this  connection  to  try  to  char- 
acterize the  truck  grower  further  than  we  have  in  the  first  chapter  in 
which  we  have  attempted  to  define  the  different  components  of  the  great 
produce  trade.  It  is  merely  with  a  view  to  leading  up  to  something 
else  that  we  refer  to  the  truck  grower  again  because  jt  is  necessary  to 
get  a  line  on  him  in  order  to  classify  intelligently  some  of  the  commodi- 
ties which  are  usually  listed  as  truck,  and  which  will  more  properly  in- 
clude under  a  common  head  the  references  we  have  to  make  to  the  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  vegetables  embraced  in  that  category  of  articles. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  among  a  large  element  of  people,  both  in  and 
out  of  the  trade,  the  term  "truck"  is  used  to  include  practically  every- 
thing in  the  fruit  and  vegetable  line  which  comes  on  the  market  in  small 

269 


270      PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

quantities,  and  which  may  or  may  not  be  hawked  around  the  streets  in 
pushcarts  or  sold  from  wagons,  or  even  peddled  by  the  small  dealers  on 
foot.  Were  it  required  to  make  up  any  list  of  these  articles  we  might 
simply  prepare  a  brief  list  of  the  common  vegetables  and  let  it  go  at 
that,  but  since  it  is  not  our  purpose  merely  to  furnish  lists,  it  is  obvious 
that  we  shall  want  to  look  into  the  matter  in  a  little  broader  light. 

We  shall  perhaps  offer  some  suggestions  regarding  the  various  com- 
modities which  may  be  listed  as  truck,,  and  which  under  other  conditions 
assume  entirely  different  aspects  from  the  usual  acceptation  of  what  the 
truck  business  implies.  • 

Such  vegetables  as  celery,  cauliflower,  cucumbers,  tomatoes,  squash, 
beans,  lettuce,  radishes,  turnips,  mushrooms,  asparagus,  spinach,  endive, 
kohlrabi,  escarol,  shallots,  watercress,  artichokes,  etc.,  may  properly  be 
classed  as  truck,  and  the  term  is  perhaps  suited  for  ordinary  require- 
ments in  designating  these  and  other  similar  articles.  At  the  time  all 
of  these  commodities  were  made  to  come  under  the  common  head  it  is 
quite  probable  that  the  word  "truck"  was  very  well  employed  to  cover 
them,  and  also  to  suggest  something  of  the  methods  under  which  most 
truck  commodities  were  handled. 

But  as  we  have  seen  the  development  of  the  business,  and  the  many 
new  conditions  that  have  arisen  which  have  thrown  an  entirely  different 
aspect  over  the  methods  of  growing  and  marketing  the  various  com- 
modities we  have  just  referred  to,  it  is  quite  evident  that  many  of  them 
cease  to  be  truck  in  any  sense  of  the  word,  but  on  the  contrary  reach 
proportions  which  almost  make  a  separate  business  within  themselves, 
at  least,  for  some  of  the  commodities  mentioned. 

Take  celery  for  instance.  Those  who  are  at  all  familiar  with  the 
produce  business  will  hardly  be  disposed  to  consider  that  vegetable  as 
being  truck  in  any  sense  of  the  word  because  the  business,  under  mod- 
ern methods  of  producing  and  distributing,  has  assumed  an  importance 
in  the  vegetable  realm  not  only  in  one  section  or  in  one  market,  but 
practically  in  half  a  dozen  sections  and  all  of  the  leading  markets  in 
the  country  as  being  a  specialty  almost  within  itself.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  there  are  several  large  organizations  whose  chief  concern  is  the 
producing  or  distributing  of  celery  on  a  wholesale  plan,  and  it  is  a 
matter  of  common  knowledge  among  the  trade  that  there  are  several 
produce  concerns  in  various  markets  who  enjoy  an  excellent  financial 
rating  and  whose  chief  source  of  revenue  in  the  building  up  of  the  sub- 
stantial fortunes  they  represent  has  been  nothing  more  or  less  than  the 
specialty  they  have  made  of  celery.  Mind  you,  we  are  merely  referring 
to  celery  in  this  connection  to  illustrate  the  possibility  of  successful 
specializing  in  some  of  these  erstwhile  truck  items. 


TRUCK  GROWERS  AND  TRUCK  271 

But  while  we  are  on  the  subject  we  had  as  well  go  into  it  a  little 
further  and  advance  some  ideas  which  may  be  of  interest  to  those  out  of 
the  trade  who  may  have  this  volume  for  reference,  and  which  also  may 
be  of  some  benefit  to  those  in  the  trade. 

In  a  commercial  way,  celery  is  now  produced  in  four  or  five  states 
on  a  commercial  scale  which  makes  it  of  prime  importance.  The  annual 
output  of  celery  in  California,  Florida,  Michigan,  New  York,  Louisiana, 
Colorado  and  perhaps  one  or  two  other  states  is  an  item  that  takes  rank 
with  the  leading  vegetables  grown.  Sales  range  from  lOc  to  50c  a  bunch, 
and  $3  to  $5  a  crate  according  to  supply. 

California,  of  course,  exceeds  any  of  the  states  referred  to  both  as  to 
volume  and  value  of  the  celery  grown.  In  one  or  two  districts  in  Cali- 
fornia it  is  the  chief  industry  for  a  large  proportion  of  the  people  who 
are  engaged  in  growing  vegetables  of  any  kind,  and  the  annual  ship- 
ments from  that  state  under  normal  conditions  will  run  a  thousand  cars 
or  more.  Celery  growing  has  easily  become  an  industry  within  itself 
in  parts  of  California,  and  the  same  might  be  said  of  the  Kalamazoo 
district  in  Michigan,  while  the  output  of  celery  from  the  Sanford,  Florida 
section  makes  celery  growing  the  chief  occupation  of  many  people  in 
that  territory. 

So  far  as  the  grading,  packing  and  handling  of  celery  is  concerned 
we  shall  have  little  to  say  because  it  appears  that  the  methods  adopted 
for  marketing  the  product  grown  in  different  localities  are  perhaps 
about  the  best  that  can  be  devised  for  the  particular  sections  involved. 
For  certain  markets  and  trade  requirements  celery  should  be  bunched, 
of  course,  while  for  certain  other  trade  the  vegetable  is  taken  best  in 
the  rough  and  without  being  washed.  Growers  generally  have  made  a 
careful  study  of  these  requirements  and  seem  to  have  complied  in  prac- 
tically all  of  the  essentials  necessary  to  market  their  output  on  the  most 
favorable  terms. 

But  on  the  other  hand,  improvements  can  be  made,  both  in  the  bleach- 
ing arid  the  packing  of  celery  from  different  localities,  and  without  ques- 
tion further  progress  will  be  noted  in  the  handling  of  celery  as  well  as 
the  producing  and  packing  of  it.  It  has  been  demonstrated  over  and 
over  again  that  a  premium  always  can  be  had  for  stock  that  is  nicely 
bleached  and  properly  put  up  in  attractive  packages,  and  the  premium 
is  quite  enough  to  induce  growers  to  go  to  the  extra  pains  of  getting 
their  shipments  in  the  best  possible  shape  before  sending  to  market. 

Cauliflower  is  another  article  which  assumes  considerable  importance 
in  the  realm  of  truck  or  vegetables.  This  vegetable  is  produced  quite 
extensively  in  California,  and  also  in  Colorado  and  New  York  state, 


272  PRODUCE  MARKETS   AND   MARKETING 


principally  on  Long  Island.  Of  course,  we  find  it  grown  in  practically 
all  parts  of  the  country,  and  more  or  less  of  it  comes  on  the  market 
early  every  year  from  various  Southern  shipping  points. 

Beginning  in  the  spring  of  the  year  quite  a  little  cauliflower  is  shipped 
from  Southern  sections  in  barrels  or  large  crates,  and  sells  usually 
around  $1  to  $2.50  a  dozen  on  the  Northern  markets.  But  during  this 
same  time  shipments  are  usually  coming  freely  from  California,  and  in 
the  fall  of  the  year  the  principal  supply  is  obtained  in  the  East,  mostly 
from  New  York.  At  certain  seasons  and  from  different  localities  car 
lot  shipments  are  moved  freely  day  after  day.  During  the  summer  the 
markets  are  generally  flooded  with  it  and  it  sells  at  a  low  price. 

Cucumbers  are  one  of  the  leading  vegetable  items  not  only  from  the 
standpoint  of  a  general  production,  but  also  from  the  volume  of  business 
handled  every  season.  Cukes,  as  they  are  commonly  known,  are  grown 
in  practically  every  state  in  the  Union,  either  in  the  open  air  or  in  hot- 
houses. They  come  practically  every  market  day  and  in  every  conceiv- 
able package  from  the  extreme  long  cukes  from  the  hothouses  in  boxes 
to  those  of  the  short  pickle  variety  in  boxes  or  hampers,  and  run  a  great 
range  in  the  matter  of  price  and  quality.  Hothouse  cukes  from  Boston 
and  other  Eastern  points  are  usually  available  after  the  first  or  second 
week  in  January  and  the  same  applies  to  cucumbers  produced  in  hot- 
houses in  Illinois,  Michigan  and  other  Western  territory  and  also  from 
Louisiana,  while  cucumbers  grown  in  the  open  air  begin  coming  from 
Southern  shipping  points  in  March  and  April  and  continue  liberally 
until  carlots  move  from  Florida,  Louisiana,  Mississippi  and  Texas,  with 
prices  ranging  all  the  way  from  25c  to  75c  a  dozen  at  the  time  when 
most  of  them  are  shipping  in  heavy  quantities  during  the  spring  and 
summer  up  to  as  high  as  $2  to  $3  per  bushel  crate  or  box  during  the 
winter  when  they  are  scarcest. 

The  most  extensively  cultivated  variety  of  cukes  throughout  the 
country  is  the  White  Spine,  but  it  is  not  considered  generally  so  good 
for  shipping  purposes  as  the  Long  Green  which  stands  transportation 
better  and  also  holds  up  for  a  longer  period  of  time.  But  for  pickling 
the  smaller  varieties  are  mostly  used. 

Tomatoes  are  now  produced  in  commercial  quantities  in  probably  half 
of  the  states  in  Union.  Beginning  early  in  the  year  shipments  are 
coming  forward  from  Mexico,  California,  Florida  and  lat^r  from  Louisi- 
ana and  Texas.  About  the  middle  of  January  the  first  car  lots  are  ready 
to  move,  and  the  supply  gradually  increases  until  in  March  and  April 
when  the  market  is  usually  down  to  a  decline  from  $2  to  $3  per  crate 
for  the  first  shipments  to  as  low  as  25c  to  50c  when  the  heavy  movement 


W  QQ 

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II 


TRUCK  GROWERS  AND  TRUCK  273 

is  under  way.  As  the  season  grows  on  home  grown  tomatoes  from 
various  localities  supply  practically  all  the  large  Northern  markets,  and 
there  is  little  or  no  demand  except  for  canning  purposes  for  outside 
shipments. 

A  favorite  package  for  tomatoes  is  the  six  and  the  four  basket  crate 
with  the  latter  kind  probably  in  stronger  favor  with  the  trade  in  most 
markets  throughout  the  country.  Generally  speaking,  the  Acme  variety 
is  the  leading  favorite  for  commercial  purposes,  while  there  are 
some  other  tomatoes  that  are  perhaps  just  as  rich  or  even  richer  in  food 
value  than  the  Acme  and  are  more  desirable  for  home  consumption. 

Lettuce  is  easily  one  of  the  most  important  vegetables  grown  and 
marketed  today.  Shipments  begin  coming  from  Southern  points  during 
the  fall  and  winter  and  continue  from  some  parts  of  the  country  prac- 
tically every  month  in  the  year.  There  are  occasions  when  head  lettuce 
is  scarce,  and  good  stock  practically  has  no  limit  as  to  the  price  it  will 
bring,  having  sold  up  as  high  as  $12  and  $15  per  bushel  hamper  for 
nice  quality  on  several  occasions  during  the  past  few  years.  But  it 
generally  happens  that  the  market  is  caught  bare  of  any  stock,  and  these 
prices  only  prevail  for  a  few  days  at  a  time.  Still  it  seems  that  during 
the  fall  and  winter  periods  there  is  generally  a  shortage  of  nice  head 
lettuce;  crops  which  fill  in  these  gaps  usually  sell  at  figures  which  net 
handsome  profits  for  the  growers.  Beginning  in  the  spring  of  the  year 
barrels  sell  all  the  way  from  $2  to  $5  according  to  quality  and  market 
supply.  Florida,  Louisiana  and  Texas  points  open  the  game,  and  later 
on  shipments  come  from  practically  every  direction  until  the  home  grown 
stock  supplies  the  markets.  Of  course,  hothouse  lettuce  is  also  to  be 
had  during  the  winter,  but  as  this  stock  is  principally  of  the  leafy  kind 
there  is  not  much  competition  with  the  trade  which  demands  the  head 
lettuce.  During  the  fall  and  early  winter  quite  a  lot  of  fine  lettuce  is 
shipped  from  York  state  which  is  distributed  in  all  parts  of  the  country 
in  a  car  lot  way,  or  even  in  large  express  lots  when  markets  do  not 
justify  car  lot  shipments.  Some  sections  on  the  Pacific  coast  also  ship 
some  very  nice  fall  and  winter  stock. 

The  squash  is  another  vegetable  which  comes  properly  under  the  list 
we  are  considering.  Shipments  are  coming  steadily  during  the  spring 
and  early  summer  from  Southern  shipping  points,  and  practically  all 
Northern  markets  are  well  supplied  with  the  different  varieties.  Florida 
points  usually  begin  shipping  first,  and  bushel  boxes  generally  sell  all 
the  way  from  $1  to  $2  in  most  leading  markets.  Good,  sound  stock, 
either  white  or  yellow,  usually  nets  good  prices,  and  while  shipments 
are  wanted  mostly  in  a  small  way,  still  practically  all  stuff  coming  that 
is  of  desirable  quality  meets  with  ready  sale  at  some' price. 


274  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

String  beans  occupy  an  important  place  in  the  list  of  vegetables, 
and  are  usually  in  demand  every  month  in  the  year  in  most  markets. 
Shipments  begin  coming  from  Florida,  Louisiana  and  Texas  points  early 
in  the  year,  and  are  followed  with  liberal  supplies  from  different  states 
as  the  season  progresses.  Florida  and  Texas  shipments  are  frequently 
found  in  the  Northern  markets  around  the  holidays,  while  New  Orleans 
beans  are  looked  for  usually  around  the  first  of  January,  and  not  later 
than  the  first  or  second  week  in  January.  Sales  depend  entirely  on 
quality  and  supply,  usually  running  from  $1.50  to  $2.50  per  bushel  box. 

Radishes,  when  nice,  sound  and  of  desirable  size,  usually  meet  ready 
sale  throughout  the  entire  season.  Southern  shipments,  of  course,  begin 
early  in  the  year  and  supplies  increase  as  the  season  grows  on.  Texas 
and  Louisiana  barrels  sell  according  to  quality  from  $2  to  $5  per  barrel, 
while  the  hothouse  varieties  range  anywhere  from  15  to  50c  per  dozen 
bunches. 

Turnips,  very  largely  consumed  nowadays,  are  grown  all  over  the 
country,  and  the  round  or  long  variety  can  be  had  from  all  shipping 
districts  at  some  time  during  the  year.  They  usually  sell  for  about 
carrying  charges  in  most  markets  during  the  heavy  season  of  the  spring 
and  summer.  The  yellow  variety  grows  principally  in  Canada  and 
Michigan,  while  some  parts  of  Wisconsin  are  now  producing  more  or 
less  of  this  stock.  These  turnips,  more  generally  known  as  rutabagas, 
are  marketed  during  the  winter,  and  are  of  large  size.  They  usually 
go  in  car  lots  from  the  sections  mentioned  to  all  parts  of  the  country. 
From  observing  the  system  employed  in  handling  these  rutabagas  I  think 
their  consumption  could  be  greatly  increased  by  adopting  better  methods 
of  selling.  More  of  them  should  go  direct  to  smaller  markets. 

There  are  several  other  minor  vegetables  which  are  grown  in  almost 
every  section  and  are  available  in  season,  such  as  spinach,  endive, 
kohlrabi,  brussels  sprouts,  watercress,  shallots,  artichokes,  escarol, 
parsley,  beets,  gumbo,  green  peas,  peppers,  kale,  rhubarb,  carrots,  sweet 
corn,  etc.,  etc.  which  are  to  be  had  in  greater  or  less  quantities  as  market 
conditions  justify. 

However,  there  are  occasions  when  some  of  these  commodities  cannot 
be  bought  in  the  markets  for  various  reasons  such  as  climatic  changes 
and  unfavorable  weather.  It  is  the  case  on  such  occasions  that  extreme 
prices  prevail  for  a  limited  time,  generally  until  supplies  can  be  had  from 
other  sections,  for  be  it  known  that  the  output  of  vegetables  season  in 
and  season  out  outruns  the  actual  demand,  and  when  extreme  prices 
are  being  realized  in  most  markets  it  can  be  set  down  as  a  safe  proposi- 
tion that  the  territory  which  usually  supplies  the  market  in  question 


TRUCK  GROWERS  AND  TRUCK  275 

has  suffered  some  extreme  weather  condition  which  has  cut  off  the  pro- 
duction, or  temporarily  held  back  the  crop  which  should  supply  the  mar- 
ket where  extreme  prices  are  prevailing.  It  is  mostly  a  matter  of 
proper  shipping  facilities  and  favorable  rates  that  determines  most  of 
the  vegetable  supply  for  any  market  nowadays. 

The  fortunes  of  the  truck  grower  are  variable;  his  life  is  usually  a 
picturesque  one.  From  a  small  plat  of  a  quarter  or  a  half  acre  he  is 
likely  to  make  a  great  cleanup  once  in  five  years  or  even  oftener,  but 
what  is  more  likely  to  happen  is  that  he  will  run  along  making  a  fair 
competence  from  his  two  or  three  acres  of  highly  fertilized  and  well 
tilled  ground  which  is  usually  looked  after  by  himself  personally,  and 
with  the  assistance  of  his  family  frequently  at  certain  stages  of  the  game 
when  he  is  busiest  with  harvesting  and  marketing. 

One  thing  that  the  truck  grower  has  to  be  thankful  for  is  the  spread 
of  the  new  doctrine  over  the  country  relative  to  a  vegetable  diet  being 
the  most  desirable  for  the  average  American  citizen.  This  new  cult 
has  been  responsible  for  /an  enormous  increase  in  the  consumptive  re- 
quirements of  different  kinds  of  vegetables  during  the  past  few  years. 

Thousands  and  thousands  of  packages  of  different  kinds  of  truck, 
which  perhaps  would  not  otherwise  have  been  so  much  in  demand,  have 
been  taken  annually  by  most  of  the  leading  markets  of  late  years  in 
excess  of  previous  requirements,  and  no  doubt  the  big  increase  in  the 
eating  of  vegetables  has  been  due  largely  to  the  preaching  of  this  new 
vegetable  cult  which  aims  to  influence  people  to  forego  the  eating  of  meat 
and  substitute  on  the  daily  bill  of  fare  more  fruits  and  vegetables.  If 
a  plan  could  be  arranged  for  the  truck  growers  to  contribute  to  the 
raising  of  a  fund  to  build  a  monument  to  the  man  who  started  this  new 
creed  they  might  well  get  together  a  substantial  sum  to  show  their 
appreciation  for  the  benefit  they  have  received  indirectly  through  this 
doctrine  that  has  aimed  to  put  the  American  public  on  a  vegetable 
diet. 

The  writer  has  recently  been  asked  if  it  was  not  his  opinion  that  the 
production  of  vegetables  of  different  kinds  is  likely  to  outrun  the  actual 
consumptive  requirements.  In  answer  here  he  would  say  that  in  all 
probability  some  commodities  are  being  grown  in  excess  of  the  actual 
demands  while  it  can  hardly  be  denied  that  on  an  average  most  of  the 
best  vegetables  produced  are  consumed  by  the  public  at  some  price. 
Frequently  concessions  have  to  be  made  in  ruling  prices  in  order  to 
move  certain  kinds  of  vegetables  which  have  accumulated  and  have  to 
be  sold  because  of  the  fact  they  would  become  worthless  if  not  disposed 
of  immediatelv. 


276      PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

There  is  no  way  of  telling,  it  seems  what  commodities  will  sell  at 
good  prices  a  year  ahead  or  even  a  few  months  before  the  time  actually 
comes  for  disposing  of  them,  but  by  a  careful  study  of  market  conditions 
and  with  an  experienced  produce  man  in  some  of  the  leading  markets 
advising  with  growers,  it  generally  is  the  case  that  some  intelligent 
opinion  can  be  formed  as  to  what  the  prospects  are  for  a  given  truck 
commodity  from  one  season  to  another. 

Naturally,  when  growers  find  that  one  commodity  is  being  produced 
in  too  large  quantities  the  logical  thing  to  do  is  to  switch  to  some  other 
commodity  or  else  cut  down  their  acreage  so  as  not  to  throw  too  much 
of  the  given  article  on  the  market.  This  is  a  matter  which  can  be  very 
well  taken  up  by  individual  growers  in  one  locality  with  growers  in  an- 
other section,  or  even  through  their  associations  with  other  associations 
of  vegetable  growers.  It  will  be  found  generally  that  dealers  and  com- 
mission men  will  co-operate  heartily  in  matters  of  this  kind.  The  better 
element  in  the  produce  trade  aims  to  co-operate  with  growers  in  de- 
ciding upon  what  crops  are  best  to  grow.  Sometimes  they  have  wrong 
ideas,  but  usually  it  is  best  to  counsel  with  your  commission  man  before 
planting  extensively. 

The  truck  grower  and  his  truck  are  of  such  varied  nature  and  great 
importance  that  he  might  rightly  be  treated  more  fully  instead  of  in  a 
limited  chapter  as  we  must  do  in  this  instance. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

PRODUCE  EXPORTS  AND  IMPORTS 

Should  the  author  undertake  to  go  into  a  thorough  discussion  of  the 
matter  of  produce  exports  and  imports  it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that 
he  would  consume  a  great  deal  more  of  the  average  reader's  time  than 
is  at  all  desirable  for  our  purposes  in  this  connection. 

Besides,  we  should  be  forced  to  a  consideration  of  the  tariff,  and  a 
discussion  of  a  matter  of  that  sort  is  thoroughly  out  of  line  with  our 
aims  in  this  volume.  It  suffices  to  say,  however,  that  the  tariff  now 
in  effect  and  all  previous  schedules  have  exerted  a  tremendous  influence 
on  the  amount  of  business  we  have  handled,  especially  of  an  import 
nature,  while  the  contrary  holds  true  with  regard  to  schedules  in  effect 
in  other  countries  in  so  far  as  our  exports  are  concerned. 

Practically  every  man  connected  with  exporting  or  importing  dif- 
ferent articles  of  produce  or  other  food  products  will  bear  out  the  author 
in  saying  that  tariff  schedules  are  no  less  an  important  factor  in  handling 
business  than  the  actual  prevailing  market  conditions  themselves  in  the 
different  countries  from  which  food  products  are  imported  or  to  which 
export  shipments  may  be  sent.  Before  leaving  the  subject  of  the  tariff, 
however,  it  is  only  fair  to  say  that  no  ideal  schedule  has  ever  yet  been 
worked  out,  and  in  all  probability  never  will  be,  which  will  satisfy  even 
approximately  those  concerned  in  the  producing  or  distributing  de- 
partments, if  we  may  be  permitted  to  refer  to  the  different  interests 
in  this  way. 

The  tariff  that  is  considered  best  for  the  producer  is  frequently 
objected  to  by  the  distributor,  while  practically  all  schedules  are  objected 
to  by  the  consumer.  Perhaps  there  was  never  a  greater  truism  uttered 
than  the  statement  made  by  some  Solomon  of  the  political  game  years  ago 
that  the  tariff,  after  all  is  said  and  done,  is  purely  a  local  issue. 

Our  discussion  of  this  matter  of  produce  exports  and  imports  must 
necessarily  be  of  a  brief  nature,  for  the  space  allotted  to  this  subject 

277 


278  PRODUCE   MARKETS   AND   MARKETING 

will  not  permit  more  than  a  cursory  glance  at  some  of  the  more  salient 
features  connected  with  what  we  send  out  of  this  country  and  what  we 
bring  in  from  other  countries.  There  are  some  points  which  strike  the 
writer  as  being  of  more  importance  than  a  discussion  of  market  values 
or  prices,  and  it  should  be  understood  that  what  we  take  up  for  con- 
sideration will  be  more  in  the  nature  of  the  general  than  the  specific. 
In  other  words,  we  are  not  concerned  so  much  with  prices  as  with  the 
principles  which  underlie  them. 

The  export  end  of  our  business  is  limited  mainly  because  of  the  ex- 
cellent domestic  markets  to  be  found  in  one  section  or  another  of  our 
own  country  for  practically  everything  we  grow  and  have  to  put  on  the 
market  from  any  given  locality.  It  might  almost  be  said  that  our 
export  business  is  merely  intended  to  take  care  of  what  little  surplus 
we  may  have  from  time  to  time.  When  we  come  to  think  of  the  matter 
carefully,  we  soon  find  that  about  all  that  amounts  to  a  hill  of  beans  in 
our  export  trade  is  the  apple  business  and  what  exports  we  handle  in 
dairy  products. 

Of  course,  we  are  treating  the  matter  purely  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  fruit  and  produce  business,  and  the  total  valuation  of  the  apples 
and  dairy  products  from  this  country  for  a  given  season  amounts  to 
only  a  few  million  dollars.  In  other  words,  for  every  dollar  we  get 
from  foreign  countries  for  the  food  products  we  send  them,  we  cough 
up  several  hundred — maybe  several  thousand — dollars  in  buying  little 
dukes  and  earls  and  other  things  for  the  daughters  of  our  idle  rich  to 
play  with,  and  apparently  to  furnish  themes  for  sensational  stories  in 
the  Sunday  papers  and  magazines  a  few  years  after  we  have  imported 
the  aforesaid  little  dukes  and  earls. 

As  regards  apple  exports  it  may  be  safely  stated  that  the  figures 
run  anywhere  from  one  to  four  million  barrels  and  from  a  half  million 
to  two  million  boxes,  reckoning  on  the  government's  schedule,  and  the 
principal  part  of  both  barrels  and  boxes  is  taken  by  the  United  King- 
dom going  mainly  to  Liverpool,  London  and  Glasgow. 

It  is  purely  a  question  of  crop  conditions  in  this  country  and  prevail- 
ing market  prices  abroad  as  to  what  movement  of  apples  we  have  in 
any  given  year.  In  this  country  we  have  witnessed  a  continued  increase 
in  the  production,  and  several  years  ago  it  was  generally  believed  that 
a  much  heavier  export  business  would  result  as  the  increase  in  produc- 
tion developed  in  this  country,  but  it  seems  that  our  best  markets  have 
been  where  they  were  at  that  time,  that  is,  in  our  own  country.  There 
have  been  times,  to  be  sure,  when  there  were  more  apples  than  our 
domestic  trade  required  and  on  such  occasions  it  was  only  logical  that 


PRODUCE  EXPORTS  AXD  IMPORTS         279 

fruit  should  be  exported,  especially  when  we  could  get  better  prices 
abroad.  But  as  before  stated,  we  are  coming  to  find  that  this  export 
business  is  of  less  and  less  importance  as  compared  with  the  enormous 
domestic  trade  which  we  have  developed  and  which  is  still  constantly 
increasing  in  our  own  country. 

Now  what  applies  to  the  export  business  in  apples  may  be  said 
roughly  to  correspond  with  the  conditions  in  the  dairy  products  trade 
also.  We  send  abroad  quite  a  little  butter  and  cheese  every  year,  yet 
we  must  not  overlook  the  fact  that  where  we  send  products  of  this 
nature  abroad  we  are  constantly  using  a  greatly  increased  amount  in 
our  own  country.  A  brief  survey  of  the  government  figures  on  the 
subject  for  the  past  ten  or  twenty  years  will  quickly  convince  the  im- 
partial investigator  that,  taken  as  a  whole,  the  export  business  is  a 
mere  bagatelle  compared  with  the  enormous  volume  of  trade  in  our  do- 
mestic markets.  Even  the  banner  year  of  1906  with  nearly  25,000,000 
pounds  of  butter  shipped  abroad,  valued  at  about  four  and  a  half  million 
dollars,  and  around  20,000,000  pounds  of  cheese  valued  at  about  two 
and  a  half  million  dollars,  is  really  a  small  factor  in  the  dairy  products 
business  when  we  stop  to  think  of  the  tremendous  traffic  in  these 
products  in  our  own  country. 

The  fact  of  the  matter  is,  for  the  past  few  years  we  have  had  little 
or  no  surplus  to  speak  of  in  dairy  products  and  it  has  been  a  case  of 
utilizing  every  source  of  production  to  the  utmost  in  order  to  secure 
enough  supplies  to  take  care  of  our  own  consumptive  wants.  At  prices 
lately  prevailing  for  butter  fat  there  has  certainly  been  a  slim  chance 
for  anything  like  a  profitable  business  on  a  basis  of  prices  prevailing 
in  foreign  markets.  What  the  conditions  of  the  future  will  be  as 
regards  dairy  products  no  man  is  wise  enough  to  predict  with  anything 
like  reasonable  accuracy,  but  it  is  the  honest  conviction  of  the  writer 
that  from  the  present  "lay  of  the  land"  there  is  little  hope  of  doing 
much  more  business  in  exporting  dairy  products  within  the  near  future 
at  least,  than  we  have  had  in  the  past.  The  foreign  countries  are  simply 
not  in  position  to  stand  the  price  our  exporters  would  have  to  realize 
to  bring  up  the  volume  of  business  to  anything  like  respectable  propor- 
tions. And  it  should  be  stated  too  that  the  great  bulk  of  the  export 
shipments  are  of  undergrades  which  sell  for  less  money  than  the  average 
run  of  quality  insisted  upon  by  the  consuming  public  in  this  country. 

Now  considering  the  matter  of  dairy  products  from  an  export  stand- 
point, including  dressed  poultry,  of  course,  it  would  be  unfair  to  say 
that  there  has  not  been  quite  a  profitable  business  transacted  upon  the 
whole  by  a  number  of  operators  who  handle  dressed  poultry  which  is 


280  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

sent  abroad,  more  or  less  freely  every  year.  Several  million  pounds  of 
this  poultry  find  favor  annually  in  European  markets  and  especially 
in  the  United  Kingdom.  Whatever  opinions  they  may  entertain  of  our 
system  of  handling  packing  house  products  abroad,  it  cajmot  be  safely 
said  that  they  fail  to  appreciate  the  toothsome  fowls  which  are  sent 
over  so  nicely  packed,  and  at  such  reasonable  prices  compared  with 
what  they  pay  for  the  home  grown  kinds.  Preparing  this  poultry 
for  export  might  be  said  to  be  an  industry  within  itself  in  the  central 
West  where  a  number  of  enterprising  concerns  have  built  up  quite  a 
large  business  in  packing  this  kind  of  poultry,  and  where  a  well  de- 
veloped system  has  been  evolved  for  handling  the  business.  Yet  this 
branch  of  the  poultry  trade  is  small  indeed  when  we  compare  it  with 
the  domestic. 

There  is  one  thing  connected  with  the  export  trade  from  this  coun- 
try that  the  writer  considers  of  such  importance  as  to  be  worthy  of 
more  than  casual  reference,  and  that  is  the  matter  of  increase  in  business 
transacted  of  late  years  with  Alaska.  WTe  are  so  accustomed  to  think 
of  European  countries  when  we  speak  of  the  export  trade  that  we  lose 
sight  of  the  importance  of  the  business  done  with  our  great  big  territory 
in  the  far  Northwest  which  is  far  enough  away  to  make  it  seem  a  foreign 
country. 

Men  familiar  with  the  export  business  have  been  credited  with  the 
statement  that  Alaska  is  of  more  importance  to  us  from  the  standpoint 
of  an  export  market  for  food  products  than  all  the  European  markets 
combined.  The  fact  that  Alaska  is  a  nonproducing  country  and  yet 
has  the  money  to  pay  for  food  products  furnishes  a  clue  for  this  condi- 
tion of  affairs.  When  it  comes  to  the  matter  of  comparing  profits  on 
products  sent  to  Alaska  with  products  taken  by  European  markets  v»-c 
get  another  forceful  illustration  of  the  fact  that  the  best  market  is  the 
one  that  pays  the  best  prices. 

And  what  applies  to  Alaska  may  be  said  to  apply  also  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree  to  the  new  Canal  Zone,  the  Philippine  Islands  and  also 
the  Hawaiian  Islands ;  and  these  new  outlets  are  only  good  to  the  extent 
that  they  harbor  American  citizens,  for  be  it  understood  that  the  Amer- 
ican citizen,  wherever  he  may  be,  whether  it  be  along  Broadway,  in  a 
•  Western  mining  camp  or  at  the  North  pole  usually  insists  on  getting 
»  something  that  suits  him  and  he  manages  somehow  to  find  the  price 
to  pay  for  it.  Unfortunately  this  cannot  be  said  of  many  of  the  buy- 
ers in  European  countries;  sad  to  relate,  the  majority  of  people  who 
would  like  to  trade  with  us  abroad  are  unable  to  pay  prices  that  would 
justify  us  in  sending  our  products  abroad  to  them. 


PRODUCE  EXPORTS  AND  IMPORTS         281 

While  we  are  discussing  the  matter  of  nearby  export  markets  we  must 
not  lose  sight  of  Canada.  Now  as  a  matter  of  fact,  any  good  Canadian 
will  spend  hours  in  trying  to  convince  you  that  they  can  grow  anything 
across  the  border  that  we  can  on  this  side,  and  furthermore,  they  can 
produce  just  a  little  bit  better  quality  than  we  have.  Yet  at  the  same 
time,  the  figures  show  that  many  of  the  Canadian  markets  use  a  respect- 
able proportion  of  our  products  and  while  it  may  be  a  fact,  as  some 
prejudiced  individuals  seem  to  believe,  that  the  Canadian  trade  takes 
only  what  they  have  to  from  the  United  States,  we  must  not  forget 
that  the  sum  total  of  this  trade  cuts  an  important  figure  in  our 
annual  reckonings  of  the  fruit  and  produce  business,  and  the  sum 
total  exceeds  greatly  the  goods  we  buy  from  Canada.  It  is  especially 
important  to  the  big  jobbing  houses  located  in  states  along  the  border 
in  certain  favored  localities.  The  business  has  reached  such  importance 
that  several  concerns  have  established  branches  on  the  Canadian  side; 
and  now  that  reciprocity  is  so  nearly  accomplished  we  may  look  for  a 
much  larger  trade  in  the  future. 

This  applies  especially  to  the  Northwest,  and  here  again  we  have 
an  illustration  of  the  point  we  called  attention  to  in  speaking  of  Alaska 
and  other  parts  of  the  country  that  have  been  settled  up  largely  by 
our  Yankees.  There  has  been  such  a  tremendous  influx  of  farmers  and 
business  men  from  the  United  States  into  the  British  Northwest  that 
the  section  in  question  is  even  more  typical  of  the  United  States  than 
of  Canada  itself.  Big  profits  in  growing  wheat  and  live  stock  have 
furnished  a  basis  for  high  prices  for  different  kinds  of  fruits  and  produce 
which  the  Yankee  palate  craves  and  which  is  usually  satisfied  if  the 
pocketbook  will  justify. 

Considering  imports  of  fruits  and  produce  we  have  hardly  more  than 
four  or  five  commodities  that  amount  to  enough  to  speak  of.  Bananas 
from  Central  America  and  Jamaica,  lemons  from  Italy  and  onions  from 
the  Bermuda  Islands  constitute  the  principal  items.  Of  course,  we  get 
a  few  friiits  from  far-away  South  Africa,  plenty  of  cocoanuts  from 
South  America,  some  nuts  from  Italy,  dates  from  Syria  and  Turkey 
with  a  sprinkling  of  fancy  vegetables  from  Belgium  and  nuts  from 
Spain  and  Italy,  not  to  say  anything  about  those  very  excellent  grapes 
and  onions  which  come  from  Spain,  with  now  and  then  a  few  potatoes 
from  Germany  and  England  and  cabbage  from  Holland  and  Den- 
mark on  rare  occasions. 

If  the  writer  were  asked  to  sum  up  in  a  few  words  what  constitutes 
the  limit  on  imports  of  this  character  he  would  say  that  this  limit  is 
determined  purely  as  to  the  amount  of  a  given  product  that  they  dare 


282       PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND  MARKETING 

send  over  to  us.  That  is,  on  a  basis  of  supply  and  demand  in  this  coun- 
try, which  is  more  or  less  regulated  by  the  home  production,  assuming, 
of  course,  that  there  is  some  product  produced  in  this  country  which 
competes  in  a  measure  with  the  product  from  abroad. 

Yet  in  all  fairness  we  should  say  that  we  have  not  yet  produced  a 
lemon  that  can  compete,  everything  considered,  with  the  Italian  lemon. 
The  several  million  boxes  which  are  brought  into  this  country  every 
year  are  no  doubt  following  the  natural  trend  of  the  market,  for  were 
it  possible  to  supply  the  trade  with  our  own  production  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  state  that  the  industry  would  reach  proportions  in  this 
country  which  would  preclude  the  movement  of  such  a  heavy  traffic 
from  abroad.  The  same  may  also  be  said  to  apply  to  Bermuda  onions, 
while  Spanish  onions  and  grapes  have  the  best  kind  of  excuses  for 
finding  their  way  into  this  country  to  the  extent  they  do  and  bringing 
the  prices  usually  prevailing  during  their  limited  season. 

But  the  biggest  item  in  the  matter  of  imports  is  bananas.  A  fair 
size  volume  and  quite  a  good  story,  indeed,  could  be  written  on  the 
subject  of  banana  importation.  The  author  wonders  why  somebody 
has  not  undertaken  the  job.  True,  excerpts  are  found  here  and  there 
and  some  writers  of  stories  have  unraveled  an  edge,  while  another 
has  touched  upon  another  edge,  but  nobody  has  gone  to  the  trouble  of 
developing  the  theme  as  it  should  be  handled  and  making  a  good  story 
from  the  mass  of  material  available. 

It  is  an  enormous  business,  this  banana  trade ;  it  involves  millions  of 
money;  it  has  had  a  rapid  development  in  the  last  quarter  of  a  century. 
According  to  some  reports  which  bear  the  earmarks  of  authenticity  it 
has  had  its  share  in  the  making  and  the  unmaking  of  some  of  those 
blackguard  comedians  who  have  assumed  to  start  revolutions  and  over- 
throw the  existing  order  of  things  in  Central  America.  Little  do  we 
dream  when  we  see  a  bunch  of  bananas  hanging  in  front  of  a  retail 
grocery  store,  or  lying  complacently  in  the  pushcart  of  the  picturesque 
Italian  street  vender,  that  within  its  folds  may  lie  a  slumbering  tarantula, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  part  and  parcel  of  a  theme  which,  if  properly 
dramatized,  would  thrill  the  American  public  from  the  humblest  to 
the  highest. 

The  story  connected  with  the  banana  deal  has  all  of  the  essential 
elements  of  a  good  drama:  Love,  intrigue,  war,  wealth  and  poverty,  all 
of  these  and  perhaps  there  are  some  more  which  could  be  analyzed  in  this 
great  game.  There  are  said  to  be  romances  interwoven  with  the  financial 
affairs  of  the  banana  trust  that  are  worthy  of  a  good  playwright's 
handling. 


PRODUCE  EXPORTS  AND  IMPORTS        283 

Twenty-five  years  ago  we  were  hardly  using  five  million  bunches  of 
bananas;  nowadays  we  are  consuming  more  than  ten  times  this  amount. 
It  is  also  reported  on  good  authority  that  the  consumption  in  Great 
Britain  has  more  than  trebled  during  the  past  five  years.  Quite  a  big 
business  is  also  handled  with  markets  in  Germany,  France  and  other 
European  countries. 

While  we  are  mainly  interested  in  considering  the  banana  from  the 
standpoint  of  an  import,,  at  the  same  time  it  is  both  an  import  and 
export  business  as  we  look  at  it,  for  the  business  is  practically  dominated 
all  over  the  civilized  world  by  one  immense  Yankee  corporation  that 
practically  holds  the  business  in  the  palm  of  its  hand,  operating  steam- 
ship lines,  vast  plantations  in  Costa  Rica  and  in  other  growing  sections, 
and  having  practically  all  of  the  best  trade  in  the  world  sewed  up  so 
far  as  supplies  are  concerned.  It  is  estimated  that  four-fifths  of  the 
bananas  brought  into  this  country  are  directly  or  indirectly  controlled 
by  this  immense  enterprise.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  business  has  been 
developed  from  little  or  nothing  to  the  present  enormous  proportions  by 
the  enterprising  heads  of  this  big  corporation.  They  taught  the  public 
to  eat  bananas.  They  promulgated  the  doctrine  that  the  banana  com- 
bines the  essential  food  products  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  them  most 
easily  assimiliated  even  by  the  dyspeptic,  and  by  discovering  new 
methods  of  transportaton,  developing  new  markets  and  nursing  the  busi- 
ness carefully  we  now  see  a  leviathan  in  the  fruit  realm  which  has  sprung 
from  what  some  people  were  so  silly  as  to  call  a  "pushcart"  proposition 
years  ago  when  the  business  of  importing  bananas  was  in  its  infancy. 
But  when  the  dare  devil  methods  of  developing  the  industry  are  finally 
given  to  the  world  we  shall  all  stand  aghast  at  the  means  used  in  bringing 
about  conditions  as  we  now  find  them. 

Some  definite  idea  can  be,  had  of  the  very  satisfactory  profits  resulting 
to  the  trust  for  its  trouble  when  we  consider  the  figures  which  are  con- 
tained in  the  annual  statements  of  this  big  concern. 

Prices  in  Central  America  run  from  31c  per  bunch  for  sizes  of  nine 
hands  or  over  and  25c  for  eights.  The  company  gets  an  average  of 
$1.70  a  bunch,  averaging  from  150  to  175  bananas,  in  this  countrv. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII 

THE  COST  OF  LIVING 

During  the  past  few  years  the  increased  cost  of  living  in  this  country 
has  caused  a  great  deal  of  thinking  among  our  people,  and  because  of 
the  fact  that  considerably  more  than  one  half  of  the  money  received 
by  the  average  wage  earner  is  spent  for  eatables,  it  may  not  be  out  of 
place  to  have  some  comment  on  this  subject.  At  any  rate,  I  have 
some  things  in  mind  which  I  am  persuaded  to  believe  will  be  worth 
the  perusal  of  those  not  connected  with  the  produce  business  who  may 
read  this  book,  and  at  the  same  time  I  believe  that  those  people  in  the 
trade  who  may  not  have  given  any  thought  to  the  subject  will  do  well  to 
consider  carefully  some  of  the  things  to  which  I  am  calling  attention. 

Whenever  we  begin  making  comparisons  on  the  subject  of  the  high  cost 
of  living  it  may  not  be  a  bad  plan  to  stop  and  think  of  the  cost  of 
high  living  in  this  country,  for  the  American  people  in  my  judgment  are 
the  greatest  spendthrifts  on  God's  footstool.  I  am  firmly  convinced  of 
the  fact  that  most  of  our  people  have  a  sort  of  mania  for  blowing  in 
money  on  some  sort  of  proposition,  and  it  generally  happens  that  if  the 
money  is  not  spent  for  one  thing  it  is  spent  for  something  else.  We 
must  have  the  finest  of  everything.  Your  American  gentleman  and 
American  lady,  and  mind  you  they  are  all  ladies  in  this  country,  must 
have  the  best  of  everything  obtainable. 

Fine  dresses  and  clothing  of  all  kinds,  fine  automobiles,  fine  diamonds, 
fine  wines,  fine  cigars,  in  short,  fine  everything  except  in  the  realm  of 
mental  operations,  may  not  have  so  much  to  do  with  the  high  cost  of 
eatables,  but  it  occurs  to  me  that  there  is  a  close  connection  between 
the  increased  cost  for  food  supplies  of  all  kinds  and  the  other  forms  of 
extravagance  which  we  see  on  nearly  every  hand. 

While  food  products  have  gone  up  in  value,  let's  not  lose  sight  of  the 
fact  that  everything  else  has  advanced  also.  The  world's  gold  supply 
has  increased  wonderfully  during  the  last  decade.  Whether  this  is 

284 


THE  COST  OF  LIVING  285 

right  or  proper  I  shall  not  attempt  to  say.  I  merely  call  attention  to 
the  conditions  as  they  exist  without  attempting  to  justify  them  at  all. 
But  the  fact  cannot  be  gainsaid  that  the  American  people  as  a  whole 
demand  the  best  of  everything  and,  generally  speaking,,  if  they  have  got 
the  money  to  buy  they  insist  on  having  the  best.  This  can  only  lead 
to  one  result:  Paying  the  extra  price  for  the  extra  quality.  And  if 
they  have  the  money  and  the  disposition  to  spend  it  you  can  rest  assured 
they  will  get  what  they  want. 

There  has  been  considerable  silly  talk  here  and  there,  sometimes  in 
state  legislatures,  sometimes  even  in  the  halls  of  Congress,  with  refer- 
ence to  a  cold  storage  trust,  or  some  kind  of  trust  in  the  produce  business 
which  has  forced  eatables  higher.  To  those  who  have  even  a  passing 
acquaintance  with  practical  produce  affairs,  this  kind  of  stuff  is  scarcely 
a  low  grade  of  comedy.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  never  has  been  and 
in  all  probability  never  will  be  such  a  thing  as  a  produce  trust.  Con- 
ditions are  so  changeable  and  fortunes  are  so  variable  in  this  game,  as 
we  have  pointed  out  in  preceding  chapters,  it  would  seem  practically 
beyond  the  pale  of  human  possibility  to  effect  anything  like  a  trust,  or 
even  anything  like  an  effective  working  agreement,  which  would  last 
for  any  length  of  time,  and  which  could  result  ultimately  in  changing 
prices  either  one  way  or  the  other.  This  I  think  we  have  made  pretty 
clear  in  treating  several  subjects  in  preceding  chapters,  and  I  only 
refer  to  it  here  because  some  who  may  read  .this  chapter  may  not  have 
had  the  patience  or  felt  sufficient  interest  in  the  book  to  have  gone  over 
the  entire  subject  matter  up  to  this  point. 

People  in  and  out  of  the  produce  trade  have  pointed  out  that  the 
system  of  handling  business  generally  adopted  by  retail  grocers  through- 
out the  country  is  in  a  large  measure  responsible  for  the  big  increases 
which  are  found  to  exist  today  for  all  kinds  of  eatables  compared  with 
several  years  ago.  And  I  incline  to  believe  that  there  is  a  great  deal 
of  reason  in  some  of  these  statements,  for  I  have  done  some  investigating 
along  these  lines  myself.  I  think  no  one  who  has  looked  into  the  sub- 
ject will  deny  that  in  many  cases  retail  grocers  and  others  selling  at 
retail  do  extort  prices  from  consumers  which  are  little  short  of  down- 
right robbery  when  compared  with  profits  others  get  who  have  probably 
done  more  work  and  had  considerably  more  money  invested  in  the  com- 
modity in  question,  considering  the  proportionate  profit  they  could  hope 
to  get  out  of  a  given  commodity. 

These  retailers'  profits  frequently  run  anywhere  from  25  per  cent 
to  300  per  cent  or  more.  But  when  we  approach  the  retailers  on  the 
subject  we  invariably  get  from  them  a  very  pitiable  story  detailing 


286  PRODUCE   MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

the  experiences  they  have  and  relating  the  small  profits  made  on  their 
business  as  a  whole.  They  will  tell  you  that  they  are  carrying  numbers 
of  the  different  advertised  articles  such  as  breakfast  foods,  canned  goods, 
etc.,  on  a  scandalously  low  margin  because  the  manufacturers  tell  them 
they  have  spent  fabulous  sums  of  money  in  advertising  these  articles  and 
creating  a  demand  among  consumers.  The  manufacturer  probably  fig- 
ures that  the  retailer  must  handle  these  lines  on  a  basis  of  something 
like  one  quarter  per  cent  commission  or  profit,  and  since  there  has  been 
a  public  demand  created  for  the  commodity  the  retailer  is  almost  forced 
to  carry  it  in  stock. 

When  we  stop  to  figure  that  these  advertised  articles  constitute  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  average  grocer's  stock  we  easily  see  that  this 
very  factor  of  advertising  must  have  a  vital  bearing  en  the  profits 
that  the  retailer  has  to  figure  on  getting  out  of  the  articles  which  are 
not  advertised,  for  he  must  get  a  certain  profit  out  of  the  business  he 
handles  in  order  to  pay  his  expenses  and  have  anything  left  for  himself. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  in  this  connection  to  object  to  advertising  any 
article  intended  to  be  put  into  general  consumption,  but  at  the  same 
time  we  must  look  the  matter  squarely  in  the  face,  and  it  is  my  honest 
belief  that  there  is  a  whole  lot  in  the  claim  that  fruits  and  produce  of 
all  kinds,  which  a"re  handled  in  bulk,  and  which  are  not  susceptible  to 
being  advertised,  are  made  to  carry  the  cost  of  operating  to  a  large 
extent  that  ought  to  be  borne  by  the  different  advertised  articles  which 
are  sold  by  the  retailers  on  a  very  small  margin  of  profit.  And  if  you 
are  disposed  to  doubt  this  proposition  I  would  respectfully  suggest  that 
you  do  some  investigating  on  your  account  and  some  impartial  figuring 
before  you  give  out  an  interview,  if  you  are  interested  in  some  of  the 
advertised  brands,  attempting  to  show  that  I  am  a  crazy  agitator. 

Another  thing  that  I  want  to  point  out  is  the  system  adopted  in  nearly 
all  of  our  large  cities  for  the  delivery  of  groceries  from  the  corner 
store  to  the  consumer  whether  he  lives  in  a  house  or  in  an  apartment 
building.  In  the  average  home  the  woman  for  "convenience"  usually 
resorts  to  the  telephone  to  do  her  buying,  and  of  course  the  packages 
ordered  have  to  be  delivered.  This  delivery  service  in  itself  is  no  small 
item  in  increasing  the  cost  of  the  different  articles.  In  an  interesting 
series  of  articles  published  in  one  of  the  magazines  a  year  or  two  ago 
it  was  pointed  out  and  some  very  sensible  reasons  were  set  forth,  as 
well  as  tables  of  authentic  figures,  showing  that  the  actual  cost  of  cut- 
ting up  and  delivering  a  pound  of  steak  from  a  butcher  shop  or  retail 
grocery  in  a  residence  district  of  one  of  the  large  cities  to  some  cus- 
tomer three  or  four  blocks  away,  costs  considerablv  more  than  the 


THE  COST  OF  LIVING  287 

money  necessary  to  handle  the  same  meat  from  the  ranch  where  the 
beef  was  put  into  condition  for  marketing,  and  to  carry  it  all  the  way 
through  the  different  ramifications  of  being  shipped  and  prepared  for 
delivery  to  the  aforesaid  butcher  shop  or  retail  grocery  store.  This  is 
probably  true  with  respect  to  many  eatables  in  the  way  of  fruits  and 
produce.  There  are  some  funny  things  when  we  come  to  figure  out 
the  different  factors  that  enter  into  the  cost  of  handling  any  kind  of 
food  products.  The  actual  deterioration  and  loss  in  a  retailer's  stock  is 
quite  an  item. 

Personally,  I  am  not  disposed  to  make  faces  so  much  at  the  retail 
grocer  or  at  any  other  retailers.  I  think  as  a  general  proposition  they  are 
not  making  more  money  than  they  are  entitled  to,  considering  the  work 
they  do,  the  capital  invested  in  their  business,  and  the  risk  they  must  take 
in  carrying  their  customers.  We  rarely  hear  of  these  retailers  taking  up  any 
bond  issues  which  are  open  to  the  public,  nor  as  a  general  pr.oposition 
do  we  see  them  buying  more  automobiles  than  anyone  else;  among  all 
of  them  I  have  known  I  must  say  that  a  small  percentage  of  them 
seem  to  wear  more  diamonds  or  fine  clothes  than  any  of  the  balance  of 
our  people. 

Of  course,  the  average  retailer  is  in  business  simply  to  make  money. 
There  is  no  use  quibbling  on  that  point,  or  asking  any  questions  as  to 
why  a  certain  grocer  got  a  lease  on  a  certain  corner.  He  is  merely 
human ;  he  is  trying  to  get  all  of  the  profit  in  sight.  I  think  he  is 
wrong,  I  am  speaking  generally  of  the  average  grocer,  in  trying  to  hold 
up  prices  as  long  as  he  often  does  after  prices  for  certain  commodities 
have  declined.  But  if  we  put  ourselves  in  the  place  of  the  retailer  we 
would  probably  look  at  the  matter  just  as  he  does. 

Generally  speaking,  the  retail  buyer  looks  to  the  wholesaler  or  to  the 
jobber  who  supplies  him  with  what  he  buys  to  keep  him  informed  as 
to  market  conditions.  But  the  wholesaler  or  jobber  takes  the  same  ad- 
vantage of  him  nearly  always  that  the  retailer  does  of  the  consumer. 
In  other  words,  the  man  who  is  selling  the  retailer  wants  to  get  all  he 
can  from  him,  and  if  the  wholesaler  thinks  that  apples  will  be  lower  in 
the  course  of  a  few  days  you  can  rest  assured  that  the  retailer  will  be 
about  the  last  man  the  wholesaler  will  inform  of  the  opinion  he  has. 
To  put  it  another  way,  he  would  not  object  to  loading  up  the  retailer 
with  a  lot  of  apples  if  the  retailer  has  the  money  to  buy  and  is  suscep- 
tible. And  when  the  market  breaks  it  is  not  hard  for  us  to  see  what 
the  retailer  will  do,  or  at  least  will  try  to  do.  He  is  going  to  try  to 
get  his  money  out  of  those  apples  and  n  profit  too  if  he  can.  And  what 
is  true  of  apples,  mind  you,  applies  all  along  the  line  to  the  hundred 


288  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

and  one  different  articles  which  the  retailer  must  buy  from  day  to 
day,  or  at  least  from  week  to  week.  The  rule  of  trade  is  caveat  emptor 
whether  among  wholesalers  or  retailers. 

It  occurs  to  me  that  if  some  scheme  could  be  devised  to  keep  con- 
sumers informed  as  to  the  actual  conditions  existing  in  the  market  for 
different  kinds  of  foodstuffs,  and  even  likely  to  exist  in  the  future,,  it 
would  be  the  means  of  helping  people  generally  to  meet  conditions 
with  less  embarrassment  than  sometimes  happens.  I  think  it  would  be 
possible  for  the  daily  papers  and  the  magazines  to  secure  this  information 
and  have  it  prepared  in  such  form  as  would  be  intelligible  and  interest- 
ing to  the  average  reader  who  might  be  concerned  in  having  the  facts 
correctly  put  before  him.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  if  the  average  housewife 
had  advance  information  that  potatoes,  for  example,  would  likely  rule 
higher  than  the  average  price  by  reason  of  a  shortage  in  the  supply  she 
could  better  trim  her  sails  to  meet  the  situation  than  she  could  without 
knowing  of  the  probable  advance  that  would  take  place  two  or  three 
months  or  even  further  ahead. 

What  I  have  in  mind  is  something  analogous  to  the  service  rendered 
by  the  United  States  government  in  the  weather  maps  provided  and  the 
warnings  sent  out  from  time  to  time  with  reference  to  changes  in  the 
weather.  These  warnings  do  not  make  the  rain  come  down  to  be  sure, 
but  if  it  is  going  to  rain  we  are  put  on  notice  of  that  fact  and  can1 
provide  a  raincoat  or  an  umbrella  before  the  showers  or  storms  come 
and  the  damage  has  been  done  by  our  being  caught  unawares. 

I  think  our  people  as  a  whole  should  give  more  careful  study  to  this 
matter  of  probable  cost  of  living  several  months  ahead.  If  some  com- 
modity is  likely  to  sell  higher  or  lower  it  does  no  harm  to  let  the  public 
know  about  it.  By  this  I  mean  to  say  that  it  is  just  as  well  that  the 
information  be  given  to  the  public  with  reference  to  the  probable  supply, 
and  let  the  public  draw  their  own  conclusions  with  reference  to  the 
probable  trend  in  market  values.  Surely  anyone  who  would  undertake 
to  forecast  markets  several  months  ahead  would  probably  do  more  harm 
than  good  if  he  ever  got  to  the  point  that  he  would  enjoy  the  confidence 
of  the  public  to  the  extent  that  people  would  believe  what  he  had  to  say 
on  the  subject. 

Give  the  people  as  nearly  correct  information  as  is  available  with 
reference  to  the  probable  supplies  to  be  had  of  a  given  commodity  dur- 
ing a  given  season,  and  let  them  reason  out  things.  It  could  do  no 
serious  harm,  I  am  sure.  This  matter  of  providing  supplies  for  the 
household  is  really  a  serious  proposition  for  a  majority  of  our  people.  I 
mean  those  of  moderate  means, — the  big  majority.  As  the  matter 


THE  COST  OF  LIVING  289 

stands  now,  the  average  consumer  takes  his  chances  from  day  to  day,, 
buying  piece-meal,  when  in  many  cases  he  could  probably  offset  a  change 
in  the  market  one  way  or  the  other  if  he  had  sufficient  information  upon 
which  to  base  a  conclusion  as  to  what  the  market  might  do  the  day 
after,  the  week  after  or  the  month  after. 

In  place  of  asking  the  question  over  and  over  again  why  the  cost  of 
living  has  gone  up,  I  would  prefer  to  ask  the  question  why  does  not  the 
cost  of  living  go  down?  Yet,  as  a  general  proposition,  I  don't  believe 
that  such  articles  as  are  embraced  in  the  fruit  and  produce  line  are 
much  higher  proportionately  than  any  other  article  generally  used  by  the 
public,  if  we  consider  them  all  relatively  on  something  like  a  ten  year 
average.  After  all  is  said  and  done  our  people  as  a  whole  are  largely 
to  blame  for  the  alleged  high  cost  of  living. 

The  few  retailers  here  and  there  who  may  be  guilty  of  charging  ex- 
orbitant prices  would  no  doubt  find  it  a  difficult  matter  to  get  in  their 
slick  work  if  most  of  their  women  customers  had  as  much  interest  in 
going  shopping  to  buy  the  household  supplies  as  they  do  in  following 
the  bargain  sales  where  trinkets  such  as  phony  jewelry,  complexion  pow- 
ders, and  rats  to  go  in  their  hair,  can  all  be  found  at  marked-down 
prices,  which  are  perhaps  twice  as  much  as  they  are  really  worth  on 
the  open  market. 

Personally,  I  regret  to  see  the  passing  of  the  time  when  it  was  cus-» 
tomary  to  go  marketing,  and  I  really  think  there  were  advantages  con- 
nected with  that  system  which  can  hardly  be  had  under  any  other.  It 
certainly  made  everyone  take  an.  interest  in  the  home  which  is  lacking 
under  the  present  system.  In  some  of  our  older  cities  it  was  quite 
customary  in  years  gone  by  to  see  some  of  our  leading  citizens  visit  the 
large  retail  markets  with  their  baskets,  and  spend  an  hour  perhaps 
in  selecting  supplies  for  the  Sunday  dinner.  Having  made  their  selec- 
tions, the  packages  were  delivered,  or  were  even  taken  back  in  their 
carriages  to  their  homes.  To  me  it  seems  that  this  gave  a  sort  of  personal 
touch  which  is  lost  in  the  present  mechanical  system  of  using  the  tele- 
phone and  getting  a  lot  of  second-hand  canned  goods  and  a  nondescript 
aggregation  products  that  no  one  but  a  grocery  clerk  would  select  for 
a  good  American  citizen  to  include  in  a  Sunday  dinner. 

There  has  been  a  whole  lot  said  with  respect  to  co-operative  schemes 
for  supplyng  fruits  and  produce  to  the  consumer  at  a  wonderful  saving. 
These  fellows  can  talk  your  arm  off  telling  about  the  usurious  profits 
exacted  by  the  middlemen,  and  all  of  that.  In  theory  the  proposition 
is  very  pretty,  but  in  actual  practice  it  does  not  work  out.  It  Will  prob- 
ably take  an  entire  shaking  up  of  human  nature  ever  to  put  such  a 


290  PRODUCE  MARKETS  AND   MARKETING 

scheme  into  operation,  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  in  so  many  words 
that  I  have  no  confidence  in  it  whatever.  The  plan  is  impossible,  at 
least  until  the  millennium  shall  have  come.  Consumers  should  think 
twice  before  putting  their  money  into  these  schemes.  Honest  co-opera- 
tion to  a  reasonable  extent  is  good,  but  so  much  fraud  is  mixed  up  with 
most  schemes  of  this  sort  they  are  safe  to  let  alone. 

When  there  has  been  a  bit  more  thinking  and  considerably  less  com- 
plaining about  the  cost  of  living  compared  with  several  years  ago  I  be- 
lieve the  matter  will  tend  to  adjust  itself,  and  we  shall  all  get  along 
better. 

Whatever  we  do  let's  not  confuse  the  cost  of  high  living  with  the 
alleged  high  cost  of  living.  The  two  are  quite  different.  A  little  sober 
thinking  about  ourselves  will  convince  most  of  us  we  could  dispense 
with  many  things  we  foolishly  buy  and  eat.  We  need  more  plain  living 
and  high  thinking. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 


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